West uses sanctions against Russia as an instrument of ‘strategic pressure’ – Putin

The country’s rivals will always seek to weaken it, the president has said

Western sanctions are not a temporary measure but rather a tool for applying strategic pressure on Russia, President Vladimir Putin has said. The country’s rivals will always seek to weaken it, he added on Tuesday, speaking during a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow.

According to the president, a total of 28,595 sanctions have been imposed against Russian companies and individuals in recent years. He added that the West does not intend to hold back, threatening new sanctions and “churning out these packages one after another.”

“Sanctions are not temporary or targeted measures; they are a mechanism of systemic, strategic pressure on our country,” Putin said.

According to Putin, even if sanctions against the country are eased, the West will find another way to “throw a wrench in the works.”