Sanctions rolled out by the west against Russia will have no impact on the Kremlin, the country’s former president has said.
Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia’s security council, said it would be “foolish” to believe the penalties will cause discontent in Vladimir Putin’s government and claimed that they will only serve to unite Russian society.
The UK is one of a number of countries to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs, including Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s alleged stepdaughter Polina Kovaleva, and billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler.
Mr Medvedev said: “Let us ask ourselves: can any of these major businessmen have even the tiniest quantum of influence of the position of the country’s leadership? I openly tell you: no, no way.”
But admitting the sanctions would be “difficult”, he said Russia “could not rely on anyone” and would have to find adequate solutions itself. He said the Kremlin will now need to find its own supplies and manufacturers to develop its aircraft, automotive and IT industries among others.
Mr Medvedev also said there are several grounds under which Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons, including an attack on the country or encroachment on infrastructure that would result in Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces being paralysed.
He claimed this demonstrates Russia’s “determination to defend the independence, sovereignty of our country, not to give anyone a reason to doubt even the slightest that we are ready to give a worthy response to any infringement on our country,”. However, he said negotiations are Mr Putin’s preferred solution.
The former president also claimed that three-quarters of Russians support the Kremlin’s decision to carry out military operations in Ukraine. He went on to criticise Russians based abroad who have denounced the invasion.
“You can be dissatisfied with some of the authorities’ decisions or criticise the authorities; this is normal,” he said. “But you cannot take a stand against the state in such a difficult situation because this is treason.”
