2nd LD: Putin accuses West of breaching WTO rules, urges self-reliance

The West's sanctions on Moscow violated the basic principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Russia should boost competitiveness in the real sector, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

"The sanctions violate the principles of fair and free competition ... ignore the most-favored-nation treatment," Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying at a state council meeting.

Noting that a group of countries "unilaterally" attempted to contain Russia, he said the country's retaliatory measures would aim at protecting national interests "rather than punishing or putting pressure on someone."

"When Russia joined the WTO, it was another proof that we are building an open economy and are ready for close cooperation with foreign partners," he added.

Russia's accession to the WTO, Putin said, sharply increased its demand for the national competitiveness.

"We took obligations to lower trade barriers and restrict support for the key sectors of our economy," he said.

Against the backdrop of increasing sanctions, the president said the Russian economy can survive only if it becomes more domestically self-reliant and more competitive on the global markets.

The survival of Russian enterprises, he said, would also depend on their ability to produce goods of the same quality as their foreign competitors do.

"Russia must offer the global markets not only raw material, but also final machinery products," he said, adding that the country should make a big leap in the next year-and-a-half to two years to increase competitiveness of its real sector.

The United States and its allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow over the latter's alleged destabilizing role in Ukraine, with the latest ones targeting Russia's energy, defense and financial sectors. Endi