WASHINGTON, December 2 – RIA Novosti. Emily Blanchard, chief economist at the US State Department, told reporters that the US expects the Russian economy to be “incredibly resilient, stable and ruthless”.

Blanchard believes that, according to “the most optimistic forecasts”, the Russian economy will be at least 20% smaller by 2030 if the Russian Federation had not launched a special operation in Ukraine.

He stressed that economic growth in the near term will depend on changes in global demand, primarily oil, and the efforts of the Russian Federation to reduce its negative impact on the economy through fiscal and monetary policy.

According to the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development, the GDP of the Russian Federation will decrease by 2.9% this year, by 0.8% in 2023 and by 2.6% annually in 2024-2025. The Central Bank expects the decrease in GDP to be between 3-3.5% this year.

The West has stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia through Ukraine, which has led to higher electricity, fuel and food prices in Europe and the US. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that cheap and reliable Russian energy sources are a competitive advantage for Europe, and even their partial rejection has already had a negative impact on its economy and residents. And the US forcing the EU to completely reject Russian energy carriers and other sources has led to the deindustrialization of Europe, he said. The Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that Russia will solve all the problems that the West has created for itself.