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Obama: We knew that the only thing keeping Russiaâ€™s economy afloat was the price of oil

29 December 2014 15:16 (UTC +04:00)

Baku – APA. “The tactics of exerting pressure on Russia to change its position regarding the Ukrainian crisis is right and produces results”, U.S. President Barack Obama said in his interview to NPR radio.

“And I said at the time we don't want war with Russia but we can apply steady pressure working with our European partners, being the backbone of an international coalition to oppose Russia's violation of another country's sovereignty, and that over time, this would be a strategic mistake by Russia. And today, you know, I'd sense that at least outside of Russia, maybe some people are thinking what Putin did wasn't so smart”, he said.

“If you'll recall, their economy was already contracting and capital was fleeing even before oil collapsed. And part of our rationale in this process was that the only thing keeping that economy afloat was the price of oil.

And if, in fact, we were steady in applying sanction pressure, which we have been, that over time it would make the economy of Russia sufficiently vulnerable that if and when there were disruptions with respect to the price of oil — which, inevitably, there are going to be sometime, if not this year then next year or the year after — that they'd have enormous difficulty managing it.

When we look at an issue like Ukraine, we have to be firm with the Russians, but we've also got to make sure that we've got our own fiscal house in order; we got to make sure that we are doing what we need to do to build our manufacturing base, because ultimately, the big advantage we have with Russia is we've got a dynamic, vital economy, and they don't. They rely on oil; we rely on oil and iPads and movies and you name it.

But I think that one of the things I've learned over six years, and it doesn't always suit the news cycle, is having some strategic patience. You'll recall that three or four months ago, everybody in Washington was convinced that President Putin was a genius”, Obama said.