ST. PETERSBURG, May 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Thursday that the best response to Western sanctions imposed against Russia is low risks for investors and return on capital.
“What is an appropriate response to the sanctions? I think that it should be entirely economic. Which two things investors are most interested in – the return on capital and low risks,” the minister said in his speech during the 2014 International Economic Forum that kicked off Thursday in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.
Ulyukayev stressed that if Russia can ensure such conditions for investors that will mean that the country is responding appropriately to any politically motivated measures. The return on capital, according to the Russian minister, is also connected with expenses. He recalled that the Russian government had frozen tariffs for certain industrial customers, which will also facilitate the process.
Since March, the US and EU have imposed targeted sanctions against Russian officials, freezing their assets and banning them from obtaining visas, as well as against 17 Russian companies. The measure came as a response to Russia’s alleged involvement in escalating Ukrainian tensions. The leaders of the G7 group of nations also threatened Russia with sanctions against key sectors of the country’s economy in the event of a further escalation in the Ukrainian crisis.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that the language of sanctions is “inappropriate and counterproductive” and warned its Western partners about the “boomerang effect” that sanctions would have.
