The new round of sweeping Western sanctions on Russia after it launched an all-out military operation against Ukraine may hit the country's critical supply chains, head of one of Russia's biggest business groups has told President Vladimir Putin.
The US and its allies have decided to block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs close to Putin after he ordered a "special military operation" against Ukraine on Thursday.
Putin, who met the country's top business executives here on Thursday was told that supply chains may be broken as a result of new sanctions that will cover many sectors of the Russian economy, the official TASS news agency reported.
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"We are perfectly aware that new sanctions will be much tougher than all previous restrictions and will cover many sectors, such as the financial sector, extractive industries, technological equipment supplies," President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Alexander Shokhin told Putin.
"They will also cover certain types of commodities and components, and supply chains, transport and logistics chains may be broken,” he said.
This will make business refocus on other partners, Shokhin noted.
"To dampen all those restrictions the Russian business, Russian companies will obviously have to work even more efficiently,” he said, adding that “it will be necessary to implement the import substitution strategy actively, as well as search for new partners in countries that are ready to continue cooperation,” Shokhin said.
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During the meeting, President Putin said that Russia was prepared for what is happening in terms of sanctions imposed by Western countries.
“Of course, we all - and you too - understand what world we are living in and we prepared, this way or the other, for what is happening now in terms of restrictions and sanctions policy,” he said.
Reacting to the threat of punitive sanctions by Western countries, the press service of the Russian government has said the country has sufficient financial resources for providing the stability of the financial system amid sanctions.
The government of Russia has formed clear plans on measures to protect financial markets and separate companies from possible sanctions and other threats, it said on Thursday.
"As part of this work simulation modelling (stress tests) of the consequences of imposed sanctions have been conducted, after which clear plans of actions were shaped. The financial markets and largest companies are fully prepared to implement them,” the statement said.
The government of the Russian Federation will help ensure the stable operation of sanctioned companies, maintaining jobs and wages, the press service added.
The Finance Ministry together with the Bank of Russia “will continue closely monitoring the situation on financial markets and will take additional measures to support financial stability, if necessary,” the statement said.
