South Korea has indicated its willingness to lift restrictions on Russian goods, provided the United States does the same. The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated that if the US lifts its sanctions on Russia, South Korea could also begin to lift its own restrictions.
According to the Russian ambassador to Seoul, Georgy Sinodov, 1,431 goods are currently subject to export control and approval when shipping to Russia from South Korea. He emphasized that the normalization of relations between the two countries, both politically and economically, can only be achieved by lifting the sanctions.
Sinodov also noted that Russia has not forced any foreign companies to leave the market, stating that those who wanted to leave did so and those who remained have continued to thrive in the Russian market, which is growing at an unprecedented rate.
South Korean companies did not make a public show of their withdrawal from the Russian market, the ambassador added and many of those that left did so under external pressure. He expressed confidence that many of these companies would like to return.
The article goes on to quote President Vladimir Putin, stating that the West’s long-term strategy is to weaken and contain Russia and that the restrictions imposed on the country have had a significant impact on the global economy. Putin also said that the main goal of the US and its allies is to worsen the lives of millions of people worldwide.