Kremlin spokesman says Russian GDP to decrease by 2%

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian economy gives reason for moderate optimism as the country's GDP will decrease less than predicted, a little more than 2%, by the end of this year, the Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press briefing in Vladivostok, Dmitry Peskov noted that the Russian authorities hope for the better, prepare for the worst, and work hard to stabilize the economy in the condition of sanctions.

"Now we can state the real figures that we have, according to statistics, that give us a reason for moderate optimism. The drop is even slower than we predicted -- our GDP will decrease by a little more than 2% by the end of the year.

"It is necessary to calculate all scenarios, quite titanic work is being carried out to stabilize the economy against the background of hostile actions towards us," he said.

According to the spokesman, Russian President Vladimir Putin holds weekly meetings on economic issues where different points of view are expressed and various scenarios are modeled.

"There is always a rule that you need to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," he said.

Peskov noted that the global economy shows negative trends and even under sanctions, Russia is still not a "closed box" and cannot exist outside the influence of the global economy.

"One can only assume which of the factors will have a stronger impact on the Russian economy. ... The degree of predictability is constantly decreasing due to the chaos that is happening in the world and which is largely provoked by sanctions," he said.

The spokesman said he does not know when the work of the Nord Stream gas pipeline will be resumed and that it depends on how the repair work will be carried out.

He also expressed hope that those who are behind Monday's terrorist act near the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul that left two Russian diplomats dead will be identified and punished.

"We also hope that all conditions will be created to ensure the security of our embassy in Kabul. The embassy, of course, is in contact with the local authorities and demands that security measures be strengthened," he said.

- Peskov: 'Türkiye is a friendly country and important partner'

Peskov also gave an interview to the Russian daily Izvestia on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Tuesday.

Speaking about Moscow-Ankara relations, Peskov said Türkiye is "a friendly country and an important partner ... both in political matters from the point of view of international politics, and in terms of trade and economic cooperation."

Also, Türkiye did not join the Western anti-Russian sanctions and is actually pursuing a sovereign, independent foreign policy, he continued.

Peskov reminded that Putin recently highly assessed Türkiye's mediation efforts in various situations, including on the grain export from Ukraine.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February. A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN has been set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

As for the Turkish initiative to organize a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Peskov said: "It is out of the question so far."

Peskov admitted that Moscow and Ankara have differences, including about Ukraine, but this does not prevent the two countries from developing bilateral relations.

"We have disagreements on a number of issues, and Ukraine primarily belongs to such disagreements. We do not agree with the position that Türkiye takes on Ukrainian affairs, but we patiently continue to bring to our Turkish partners our position and what we are sure of, what we are convinced of," he noted.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions against Moscow.

- Energy crisis

Commenting on the gas supplies from Russia to Europe, Peskov said the responsibility for the problems lies entirely with those countries that have imposed sanctions.

Gas prices surged after the Russian energy company Gazprom announced that natural gas shipments from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe have been halted indefinitely.

Gazprom shut down the pipeline between Aug. 31-Sept. 2 for repairs, and supplies were scheduled to resume after Sept. 2, but the company later announced the pipeline would remain closed.

"Because it is these sanctions, and not the decisions of the Russian side, that have led to the fact that it is simply impossible to operate the (gas transportation) system," he said.

He added that the less gas is sold to the West, the more active Gazprom's attempts to find alternative buyers will be.

Peskov called "unprecedented" the pressure that the West is exercising on Russia right now, adding that "probably, it has never been so concentrated."

However, he stressed, the end of economic relations with the West means reorientation to other parts of the world, including the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.

About the election of the new British prime minister on Monday, the spokesman said "relations between Russia and the UK are unlikely to become more constructive" because Liz Truss had made many statements unfriendly to Russia.

"We can make predictions going by the statements of Ms. Truss, which she made when she was the foreign minister, when she was a candidate for the post of prime minister. These statements are clearly unfriendly, they are quite aggressive, so we can hardly expect some kind of constructivism on the part of the UK," he noted.