Vladimir Putin says Russia can benefit from sanctions over Ukraine invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the global community to normalize relations with Russia while stating that the country could benefit from sanctions imposed on it, CNN reported. 

During a flag-raising ceremony of a new Russian ferry, as part of a joint venture between Turkey and Russia, Putin said, “We have no bad intentions, there is no need to escalate the situation, impose restrictions, we fulfil all obligations”, and added, “If someone does not want to cooperate with us within the framework of single cooperation, and by doing so harms themselves, they will, of course, harm us too”. 

He also noted that the Russian economy would have to adjust to the new reality, as troops continue to move across Ukraine in attempts to “denazify” and “demilitarize” the NATO-leaning country. 

Also Read | Russian attack on Ukraine’s nuclear power plant a war crime: US embassy

Putin said, “We will just have to move some projects a little to the right, to acquire additional competencies. But we will still solve the problems that we face. In the end, we will even benefit from this because we will acquire additional competencies”. 

Russia already faces sanctions from the US and other NATO members. Switzerland too has broken its longstanding neutral stance to impose sanctions on the country. In the past weeks, Russia has been expelled from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) payment system, and sanctions targeting individual Russian oligarchs have led some to urge Moscow to reach a peaceful solution. 

Also Read | ‘If conflict comes, we’re ready for it’: U.S. Secretary of State on Russia

Today, Russia’s second-largest oil firm, Lukoil released a statement calling for an end to the war. As per CNN, it read, “The Board of Directors of LUKOIL expresses herewith its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy. We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy”.