March 19, 2025 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) on March 18, immediately prior to his historic phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. The public part of Putin’s meeting with the 1,300 RUIE delegates has been transcribed on the Kremlin site, and is highly significant because of the topics he chose to address as a prelude of sorts to his conversation with Trump.
Putin was emphatic that the era of anti-Russian sanctions is here to stay, and told the entrepreneurs that the world is shifting to the BRICS and the Global South for the next era of growth. He urged Russian industrialists to be part of that project, emphasizing that the growth of “productivity” is key—and then clarified he didn’t mean more “intensive” production (i.e., speed-up), but rather leaps in innovation technology. Some key quotes:
“I know that the business and expert communities are actively discussing the future of the illegitimate sanctions against Russia, Russian companies and citizens: whether they will be lifted, remain in force, intensify, etc…. Sanctions are neither temporary nor targeted measures; they constitute a mechanism of systemic, strategic pressure against our nation. Regardless of global developments or shifts in the international order, our competitors will perpetually seek to constrain Russia and diminish its economic and technological capacities. …
“I reiterate: sanctions and restrictions are the reality of the existing new stage of development that the entire world, the entire global economy, has entered. The global competitive struggle has intensified, assuming increasingly sophisticated and uncompromising forms. Thus, literally before our eyes, a new spiral of economic rivalry is unfolding…. A return to pre-existing conditions is impossible. We should not anticipate fully unfettered trade, payments, or capital flows, nor rely on Western mechanisms to safeguard investor and entrepreneur rights.”
Then Putin moved on to what the future holds.
“We can see that most European countries have lost their sovereignty, and as a result they have faced serious problems both in the economy and in the security sphere. As for the economy, all of them have near-zero growth rates or are even entering a recession. On the contrary, the BRICS countries and those that wish to join the association understand the benefit of combining potentials, and in recent years they have been leaders in global growth, creating a high benchmark for economic dynamics. …
“The so-called Western dominance slipping away, and new global growth centers taking the center stage is a long-term trend. … Of course, this long-term trend will remain unchanged. It will be bolstered up by, among other things, the BRICS development platform that is currently taking shape. It will include resource, technology, personnel, finance, trade and investment components at a whole new level with the use of cutting-edge digital solutions, which will maximize the platform’s effectiveness and keep negative outside interference at bay. I very much count on Russian businesses taking an active part in these joint projects with our BRICS partners and future BRICS members.”
Putin continued: “Colleagues, Russia is carrying out large-scale and long-term development plans, launching major infrastructure, industrial and transport projects, developing vast unparalleled territories in the Far East, Siberia, the Arctic, and other regions of our country, and strengthening promising and mutually beneficial ties with the vast majority of countries around the world. …
“We will need to ensure high-quality and intensive dynamics in the real sector by upgrading production facilities and increasing productivity (better yet, it should be done through the use of innovative technologies rather than intensive approaches.”
