WASHINGTON, Jul 26 Western sanctions have not destroyed the Russian economy, said US State Department sanctions policy coordinator James O'Brien, nominated for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
«Russia will be able to support itself for quite some time. We do not see a collapse,» O'Brien said at a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
At the same time, he pointed to the contraction of the Russian economy, which, before the imposition of Western sanctions in response to a special military operation in Ukraine, was one of the ten largest. According to O'Brien, the Russian economy will shrink by 20% by 2030 due to sanctions imposed against the country.
O'Brien's candidacy for the new post was proposed by US President Joe Biden, now the official heads the US State Department's Sanctions Coordination Office.
After the start of the special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the West increased sanctions pressure on Russia. The disruption of supply chains has driven up fuel and food prices in Europe and the US. In the UK, the rising cost of living has hit millions of households.