Sanctions Violate WTO Principles, Says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that sanctions imposed against Russia by the Western countries violated the rules and principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"The sanctions introduced against Russia is nothing else but a denial of the basic principles of the WTO. The idea of the equal access to the goods and services markets is breached," Mr. Putin said at a meeting of the state council, reports The Wall Street Journal.

At the meeting, Putin said that Russia, however, does not intend to punish the West for imposing the sanctions. He said that by imposing sanctions, the west has challenged Russia to build up its economy, increase competition, and boost lending.

"In taking responsive measures, we first of all think about our own interests regarding the task of development and protecting our producers and markets from unfair competition," Putin said, reports Reuters.

He added that Russia's major goal was to make use of the country's large domestic market and to flood it with top quality goods produced by Russian companies.

Russia's ministers also joined Putin in criticizing the West for imposing the sanctions. They urged the state to play a major role in supporting the economy.

"The global capital markets are practically closed for the Russian companies, and the only source now is the domestic market," said Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, reports The Wall Street Journal.

He also said that  Russia should utilize the WTO framework to safeguard Russian producers both domestically and abroad.

Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia should begin fresh talks on tariffs with the WTO in 2015.