The Kremlin says that the economic reality of Russia has changed and supports the central bank

The Kremlin said Monday that Russia’s economic reality has changed, but sees no reason to doubt the effectiveness and reliability of the central bank, which has raised interest rates to 20% in a bid to shield the economy from sanctions. unprecedented western

The bank has also introduced some capital controls as the West seeks to restrict its ability to deploy $640 billion of foreign exchange reserves and gold, and has excluded major Russian banks from the SWIFT financial network, making it difficult for lenders and businesses making and receiving payments. These measures have pushed the ruble to historic lows.

“The economic reality has changed considerably”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “They are strong sanctions, they are problematic, but Russia has the potential to offset the damage”.

“Russia has long been making plans for possible sanctions, including the most severe ones. Response plans are in place, have been developed and are being implemented as problems arise”.

Peskov said that the sanctions introduced against President Vladimir Putin himself are meaningless.

“(Putin) is quite indifferent. Sanctions contain absurd claims about some assetsPeskov said. “The president has no more assets than he has declared”.

The West seeks to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Russia calls it “special military operation” intended to protect civilians.

Putin will work on economic issues today, Peskov said, meeting with officials including Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and German Gref, CEO of lender Sberbank.

When asked about the central bank’s handling of the crisis, Peskov said: “We have had no reason to doubt the efficiency and reliability of our central bank. There’s no reason to doubt him now”.