Putin: Russia to keep retaliation forever if West keeps sanctions

ST. PETERSBURG, Apr 3 (PRIME) -- Moscow will maintain its retaliation measures forever if the West keeps its anti-Russian sanctions perpetually, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday at a forum.

“I assume that these sanctions…will not continue forever, but if they remain forever, then we will eternally limit access to our market of goods that we are able to produce on our own,” he said.

Russia limits imports selectively. “Generally speaking, we used these sanctions in order to strike back and to make that strike help us, not just hurt us. And it does help us. In future, we will base our policy on this principle: we will do only the thing that helps us and will not do anything that blocks our development,” he said.

Relations between Russia and the West worsened in 2014 due to a military conflict in Ukraine. The West introduced sanctions against some Russian individuals and firms and against the oil, gas, and banking industries. In response, Russia limited food imports from some countries, including the U.S., the E.U., Canada, Australia, and Norway.

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