President Vladimir Putin said today at a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation that relations with Europe are in a crisis, but not through Moscow's fault, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Russia has never refused to restore its relations with European countries, Putin added.
The Kremlin denied information in media publications that Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked leading businessmen to finance the state in connection with the war in Ukraine, but confirmed that a participant in a closed-door meeting offered a voluntary donation, Reuters reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the allegations spread by media outlets, including “Financial Times“ and “The Bell“, do not correspond to the truth. According to him, the initiative to provide funds was entirely personal, and not at the request of the president.
Peskov specified that one of the businessmen present had expressed his readiness to donate “a very large sum“ to the state, motivating his decision with the role of the state in the development of business in the 1990s. The Kremlin did not name the donor, but according to media publications it is billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, who promised 100 billion rubles. The information has not been independently confirmed, Reuters points out.
According to the publications, the meeting with business representatives was devoted to the financial situation of the country and the continuation of military operations in Ukraine. The Kremlin also rejects claims that the funds are intended to finance the war.
Russia is facing a budget deficit and an economic slowdown amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions. At the same time, higher oil prices could bring additional revenue to the budget.
The Organization of Industrialized Countries (OECD) expects economic growth in Russia to be just 0.6 percent this year, down from 1.0 percent last year.
According to sources, the Russian government is already preparing a possible 10 percent cut in all non-security spending. However, the final decision depends on the durability of the rise in oil prices caused by the war in Iran. The country is currently benefiting from this appreciation to a limited extent, as Reuters estimates that at least 40 percent of Russia's oil export capacity has been blocked this week after massive Ukrainian drone attacks.
Earlier, TASS reported that Russian industry representatives had warned Putin that increasing restrictions on mobile internet were creating serious problems for the economy and the daily lives of citizens.