Volodin: The EU had the opportunity to cooperate with Russia, but it chose sanctions
The countries of the European Union (EU) had the opportunity to cooperate with Russia on a mutually beneficial basis, but they chose to impose illegal sanctions, says State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. He wrote about this in his Telegram-channel.
According to the politician, the restrictions introduced by European countries boomeranged on the economies of some countries, while Russia, on the contrary, benefited from this. The deputy cited the example of the situation with French wines – there the authorities were forced to allocate 200 million euros from the budget for the destruction of wines and cutting down vineyards, since the products turned out to be unclaimed. This happened against the backdrop of increased protective customs duties introduced in Russia on August 1 against the import of wines from unfriendly countries, Volodin explained.
“In our country, the situation is diametrically opposite: all this has had a positive effect on Russian viticulture and winemaking. Grape harvest and wine production show increases of 18 and eight percent respectively. The share of Russian products in stores, restaurants and cafes today accounts for more than half of the assortment – 58.3 percent,” the deputy wrote.
He emphasized that such figures are two and a half times more compared to those before the entry into force of the law on grapes and winemaking, which was adopted by the lower house of parliament in 2020.
Volodin is confident that for Russia, sanctions have become an opportunity for development, as well as an increase in the number of supplies to the market. It is important to continue to develop sectors of the Russian economy, as this will increase the standard of living of Russians and their well-being, the parliamentarian added.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the sanctions of Western countries against Russia, introduced in 2022, will remain in place for a long time, so the country should focus on sovereign development. He admitted that many industries quickly found themselves in the midst of a sanctions blockade because the West abruptly severed trade, economic and cooperation ties.
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