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Sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West could turn to be beneficial for Russian scientific researches, President Vladimir Putin said Monday, citing that blocked assess to foreign technologies and cooperation could push Russia into developing its own technologies.
"We are facing with certain challenges and restrictions regarding cooperation and import of modern technologies. This is not very good but somehow it could be favorable for us," Putin told a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Science and Education here.
Before the western sanctions, it was easier to buy something abroad, but now Russia has to invest in developing its own technologies, Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying.
He called on the scientific community to promptly set about developing substitutes in certain key industries affected by sanctions. "We don't need to blindly follow foreign methods. Our engineers and designers should find original solutions that meet the needs of Russian economy and industry."
Vladimir Fotrov, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences ( RAS), told the meeting that RAS has "significantly increased defense-related researches" and currently works closely with the Defense Ministry to define the areas that badly need substituted technologies.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, up to 90 percent of the RAS researches was related to defense projects, which he said reflects current priorities, but he also warned that the one-sided focus might lead to the standstill of scientific researches in other fields.
Putin in November urged the defense industry to start to replace foreign-made components with domestically-produced ones to reach the target of modernizing at least 70 percent of Russian armed forces' equipment by 2020. Enditem
