Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov
by Press TV
Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov says Moscow will be losing around USD 40 billion (32 billion euros) per annum due to the Western sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.
“We are losing around $40 billion per year due to geopolitical sanctions,” Anton Siluanov said on Monday.
The Russian minister also said that his country is “losing some $90 to $100 billion per year due to oil prices falling 30 percent.”
On Sunday, Russian President Valdimir Putin criticized the United States and the European Union (EU) for imposing sanctions against Russia and certain people close to him, calling the move a “systemic mistake.”
“The Americans made a systemic mistake by believing that I have personal business interests because of ties to people they put on their sanctions list,” Putin said.
Also on Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of seeking a “regime change” in Russia through its sanctions against Moscow.
The United States and the European Union (EU) have imposed a series of sanctions against Russian figures in recent months as they accuse Moscow of destabilizing Ukraine. Moscow, however, rejects the accusation, saying it is concerned about Kiev’s violent attacks on the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine.
YH/HJL/HRE
