The goal of Western economic sanctions is a “color revolution” in Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences presidium member, academician Yevgeny Primakov is convinced. He told TASS in a jubilee interview of conspiracy theories around oil prices, the U-turn of Russia’s economy to the East and the role of informal diplomacy in conditions of a political crisis. On October 29, Yevgeny Primakov, who consecutively headed the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Foreign Ministry and the government, turns 85.
- I can’t agree with the term “reciprocal sanctions”. The sanctions imposed by the United States and their allies against Russia are one thing. And response measures taken by Russia are quite another thing. The aim of anti-Russian economic sanctions is to weaken Russia, corner us, put into practice the idea of a “color revolution” in our country. The response measures that in their scale are not comparable to anti-Russian sanctions are mainly aimed to create an atmosphere that does not favor escalation of sanctions imposed by the West. Of course, in such a situation, a signal is sent to relevant departments and businesses on the required support for the domestic producer in order to loosen our dependence on imports, especially in the food sphere.
Economic sanctions without a relevant decision of the UN Security Council are a measure that contradicts global processes – both economic ones aimed to develop interaction in the interests of all countries, and political ones who solve the problems of creating various systems of counteraction to the real threats to the security of the modern world.
- Has escalation of the conflict discredited the leading institutions of international economic cooperation – the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the IMF? Do they require transformation?
- The development of the conflict imposed on us by the United States directly contradicts the principles that underlie the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF, but it does not mean that Russia should quit these institutions of international economic cooperation. Even in conditions of the changed global situation, Russia does not accept a course for self-isolation.
- There is a political component in the oil price reduction, but it does not make me a supporter of different variants of conspiracy theories. The key factor in global oil price reduction is a slow dynamics of the post-crisis world economy.
- I don’t think it will happen like that. But it does not mean that we should ignore such a possibility when solving domestic economic tasks.
- The key domestic economic crossroads that we faced after the crisis and are still facing now is either to consolidate the financial resources or direct all efforts for fast growth and quality development of GDP. I specify, that does not mean that we should give up financial consolidation, but the key thing today is to subordinate the monetary policy to economic growth and secure the technical and technological development. And in conditions of Western sanctions, it means to determine the critical points in which not just import substitution but a breakthrough ruling out catching-up development is required.