Putin pledges Russian economy never to be closed

MOSCOW, Jun 9 (PRIME) -- Russia has never been and will never be a closed economy, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting with young entrepreneurs and startup developers.

“We will never have a closed economy. We never had one and we will never have one,” he said.

Fertilizers and energy prices grew in the West as a result of their own mistakes, as anyone who tries to restricts Russia only restricts himself. They are trying to cover their mistakes by blaming Russia, but it is not Moscow who imposed the restrictions, it is not Moscow who has been prolonging them year after year, Putin said.

The only response to the restrictions is de-bureaucratization of decision-making in all sectors of the economy, especially in the medical industry. The Russian authorities also plan to expand support of non-energy exports, he said.

He also said that Russia has to drive consumption of nationally-produced seeds to at least 75% in the next two to three years. Currently, about 67% of the seeds that Russian farmers use come from the foreign countries, he said.

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