Russian President Vladimir Putin put a spin on the sanctions imposed on his country: there are positive aspects of the sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia.
While he was not specifically singling out one type of sanctions, he said they had somehow promoted Russian technology.
Speaking during his telethon on Wednesday, Putin said, "We have not only adapted to the pressure of sanctions. In some ways, they even did us good: replacing imported technologies with our own gave us a boost to production. There are other positive things, such as the MIR payment system and the whole strengthening of the financial system."
The MIR card payment system is a Russian financial services system that became operational in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea and subsequent sanctions against Russia.
"And the fact that they are scaring us or imposing market restrictions on our government bonds and loans...well, there are positives to it. The total aggregate debt of the government and the commercial sector has gone down. In general, this also has certain positive aspects."
Putin added that he hoped Russian-U.S. relations would return to normal, but added that while U.S. partners "understand that the world is changing," they are still "trying to maintain their monopoly."
"The world is changing and changing fast. No matter what sanctions are applied to Russia, no matter what they scare us with, Russia is still developing, economic sovereignty is increasing, defense capabilities have reached a very high level and, on many important parameters, it has surpassed many countries in the world, and on some of them, even surpassed the United States."
Putin also said he hopes that Russian-American relations will return to normal.
"I very much hope that the realization that the world is changing, the need to rethink their own priorities and interests in this changing world will lead to the fact that the world order will take a more noble character, and our country's relations with the United States will return to normal."