Speaking to members of the plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum via video link, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that the countries, which are attempting to isolate Russia, are primarily only harming their economies, Izvestiya reports.

According to him, the West will fail in its attempts to isolate Russia and face growing economic problems. Putin noted that Russia is not going to shut itself off from international cooperation.

“It is impossible to isolate Russia, utterly unrealistic in the modern world and those who try to do it, primarily hurt themselves,” Russian leader said, citing growing economic challenges in the West, including inflation unseen in 40 years, growing unemployment, rupture of supply chains and the worsening of global crises in such sensitive spheres as food.

Putin said this is a serious thing that will have an impact on the entire system of economic and political relations.  He lambasted the West for seizing Russian reserves, saying that the theft of others’ assets never brought any good.

The purpose of the Eurasian Economic Forum, established by a decision of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) and timed to coincide with a meeting of the SEEC, is to further deepen economic cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states.

The EEF 2022 in Bishkek, themed “Eurasian Economic Integration in the Era of Global Shifts: New Investment Opportunities” has reportedly focused on promising areas for the strategic development of integration.  The participants have discussed ways to deepen industrial, energy, transport, financial, and digital cooperation.