The West is already feeling the “sweet consequences” of its sanctions against Russia, but these measures will remain in place “for a very, very long time,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.
Since the beginning of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine in late February, the US, the EU, the UK and many other countries have imposed harsh restrictions on Moscow. Russia considers the measures “unlawful” and “unjustified.”
Speaking at the United Russia party’s forum on entrepreneurship, Medvedev, who currently serves as a deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, said that “the Western world is driving itself into a global crisis with its own hands.”
“But, in fact, the Europeans have felt all the sweet consequences of anti-Russian sanctions – inflation, hyperinflation, rising prices for fuel, housing, utilities, food, everyday goods, job cuts,” he said.
He admitted that Russia is also suffering because of the “stupid” restrictions but, according to him, the difference between it and the West is that Russia has “a noble goal.”
“We must find an answer to attempts to limit the development of our state,” Medvedev explained.
Russia should be prepared for sanctions to remain in place for a long time, he added.
“We understand that these sanctions … will be one of the systemic ways to fight for world leadership and fight against the development of our state, and this will continue for a very, very long time,” he stressed.