Putin: The West will not be able to live without Russian turnips and fertilizers

The Russian economy started to develop according to a new model, President Vladimir Putin said speaking at the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).

"The active and creative position of the RSPP and the business community as a whole is especially in demand now, when the Russian economy is acquiring a fundamentally different quality and starting to develop according to a new model, as was recently said in a message to the Federal Assembly,” President Putin noted.

In addition, according to him, in 2022 Russia managed to compensate for the closure of Western markets. Russia's foreign trade turnover for the year grew by more than eight percent, and the trade surplus amounted to $332 billion, he noted.

Vladimir Putin also pointed out that the harvest in Russia exceeded that in European states, despite forecasts of its decline. He also said that Europe would be in need of Russian fertilisers.

The West will also need Russian turnips, Putin said. According to him, Western countries offer their residents to eat turnips instead of salads, but they will have to purchase this product from Russia.