Chief of Russia's Presidential Administration Sergey Ivanov: I Would Like the Sanctions against Us to Remain

Sergey Ivanov, chief of Russia's Presidential Administration, said during an interview on the margins of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that he personally would like the sanctions against Russia to last longer, since, according to him, they lead to internal production growth. It should be noted that according to the official statistics released by the Russian Federal Statistics Bureau prior to the forum, Russia's GDP dropped by 3.7 percent in 2015 and by another 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

Ivanov: "In various fields, not only agriculture, but also (industrial) chemistry... I have just participated in signing three contracts in this field. These fields show an annual growth - and foreign investors talked about it yesterday - of 30-35 percent. Listen, we should be proud of that. All this is to a great extent thanks to the sanctions. If the sanctions are lifted, we will lift the counter-sanctions. That is clear. What will happen then? What I'm trying to say is... I, personally, would prefer the sanctions against us to last longer, and not be lifted in the near future. That's my personal opinion."