Russia says it is fully adapted to sanctions, is preparing to respond; foreign debt/GDP ratio drops sharply

On October 24, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has lived under the pressure of sanctions for decades, so now the country can fully adapt.

Gói trừng phạt thứ 11 nhằm vào Moscow: EU chính thức 'tuyên chiến' với bên thứ ba, quyết chặn đường sống của kinh tế Nga?. (Nguồn: Ukrinform)

The Kremlin and Moscow are taking measures to counter sanctions. (Source: Ukrinform)

"Sanctions that will last for another five years will not threaten us. It is not difficult to predict that the West will continue its efforts to restrain our economy ," Mr. Peskov added.

Affirming that Russia is taking countermeasures against sanctions and that the country has many paths to choose for further economic development, the Kremlin spokesman emphasized: "We can predict, even know, and are preparing to respond to new sanctions."

Despite Western pressure, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in late September that Western pressure only made Moscow stronger than ever.

Regarding the Russian economic situation, on October 24, RIA Novosti news agency reported that the ratio of foreign debt to gross domestic product (GDP) of Russia fell below 15% for the first time in history in the second quarter of 2023. The average debt per capita fell to 2,300 USD, the lowest level since 2006.

As of the end of the second quarter of 2023, the country's foreign debt stood at 343.4 billion USD (about 29,900 billion Rubles) or 14.96% of GDP.

RIA Novosti gave the above figures based on data from the Central Bank of Russia (BoR) in the second quarter of 2023.

However, in the third quarter of 2023, Russia's foreign debt fell by another 4% to $329.5 billion. Since the beginning of the year, the country's debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen to 14.1%.

The BoR previously explained the reduction in foreign debt as being due to “a reduction in equivalent USD debt repayments due to the weakening of the national currency against the USD, as well as a decrease in the volume of foreign holdings of Russian sovereign bonds, including their planned repayments.”

Russia's foreign debt has been decreasing over the past few years, with the ratios being: 2020: 31% of GDP, 2021: 26.2% of GDP, 2022: 16.6% of GDP.

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