President Putin: Russia will lift counter sanctions if the EU abolishes restrictions in agriculture
"My answer will not please agricultural producers, our Russian producers, but I have to tell you that if the European sanctions are lifted, then, of course, we, for our part, will be forced to remove the counter measures, because there will be no initial reasons for which they were introduced", said the head of state.
According to President Putin, the imposition of sanctions did not play into anyone's hands, although he admitted that restrictions were an incentive that helped domestic agricultural producers to master their market.
The Russian President reminded that Russia ranked first in the world in wheat exports, ahead of the US and Canada. The same thing, he said, for poultry and pork. "Now our task is to expand our presence in the Chinese market, that is, we have completely covered our needs," Putin added.
Speaking about the possible abolition of counter-sanctions, the Russian President stressed that it will be difficult for foreign producers to win back their former positions.
"But, of course, in general, it only causes damage, these abnormal economic relations, which are spoiled for political reasons or spoiled with the use of political instruments, such as unfair competition, ultimately do harm to all", he stressed, referring to the opinion of the IMF and WTO.
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