Russian Economy Recovery in Spite of Sanctions 'Boosts Moscow's Self-Confidence'

Anti-Russian sanctions introduced by the West have proved to be ineffective, with the Russian economy showing clear signs of recovery, Austrian Wiener Zeitung newspaper wrote.

Russia reacted to the sanctions by strengthening its domestic production, especially in the field of metallurgy and agriculture, the article said.

"Russian agriculture has now reached record levels and is able to cover about 100% of the demand for chicken meat and 70% for beef and pork. The so-called import substitution works," the newspaper wrote, citing German economic expert Dietmar Fellner.

According to the expert, Russia's economic recovery in spite of the Western sanctions "boosts the country's self-confidence."

"The world's largest country is just about to ‘pull out' from the recession using, as far as possible, its own resources," Fellner stated.

The former trade delegate to Moscow believes that Europe is suffering from sanctions even more than Russia. According to him, from 2010 to 2013 there was an economic boom in the Austria, with its exports to Russia reaching 3.5 billion euros.

"With the decline of the Russian economy, Austrian exports also decreased. In 2016, they had almost halved to 1.8 billion euros," the newspaper wrote, referring to Fellner.

In 2014, the European Union and the United States imposed a series of sanctions against Russia over its alleged involvement in the conflict between the Kiev authorities and the militia in the east of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations and noted that the sanctions are counterproductive.

Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow won't make unilateral concessions to abolish the restrictive measures. According to the journalist, that means that "the war of sanctions" will end not in favor of the European Union.