Russian economy doing well despite Western sanctions: Putin

Russia's current economy proves that the country has successfully withstood Western sanctions and got a chance to make a big leap forward, President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

The slump of global oil prices and Western sanctions combined have drained 160 billion U.S. dollars from the Russian economy, but Russian companies have successfully overcome the difficulties, Putin told a meeting with St. Petersburg's lawmakers.

"Perhaps someone has expected some sort of collapse, which did not happen. Our economy overcame these artificial barriers in a relatively easy way," he said.

"The ban on food imports, introduced as a response to anti-Russian sanctions last August, gave a chance to domestic producers, as it has cleared the national market from foreign competitors while not violating the WTO requirements," Putin said, adding that the economy is now developing in the right direction.

Meanwhile, the president has ordered to substitute imports with domestic production in sectors where Russia has been competitive, such as aviation, shipbuilding, micro-electronics and defense-related industries.

The ruble has recently been trading at around 50 to the U.S. dollar compared with its highest rate of about 70 at the beginning of this year.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last week that the recent recovery of the ruble may be the result of growing confidence in the currency rather than short-term speculative activities.

The Russian economy has been suffering since March last year due to sanctions imposed by the West for its takeover of Crimea and alleged involvement in the domestic conflicts in Ukraine. Endi