Russia should be prepared for import substitution, Putin says

Russia will responsibly fulfill all contractual obligations with Ukraine, but at the same time, Russia should be prepared for import substitution, President Vladimir Putin said.

"I ask you to perform responsibly all contractual obligations with Ukrainian partners, but we need to be prepared in advance to any development of the situation, including in terms of import substitution," Interfax quoted Putin as saying at a meeting with Minister for Industry, Denis Manturov.

"We need to think in advance about where, at what companies, at what time and on what money we will be able to launch our own production," said the president.

Putin also hopes that the current authorities in Ukraine will not make any vital mistakes.

"I hope that acting heads of governmental departments in Ukraine will not do the things over there that would be impossible to improve," said the head of state.

The President noted that there are complex political processes going on in Ukraine. Putin expressed a hope that the initiative of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs to "even the situation and change it for the better will have consequences, and the results will be positive."