OREANDA-NEWS  The West is concerned about how Russia managed to overcome unprecedented sanctions, said Al-Ain columnist Mohammed Ferhat.

"In 2022, the Russian economy showed better results than expected, despite unprecedented sanctions. The IMF in April last year predicted a drop in Russia's GDP by 18.5 percent, but in fact the country's economy shrank by less than 2.5," the journalist noted.

In his opinion, Moscow has shown "quite strong resilience" and the West is dissatisfied with the fact that the Russian economy is far from collapse. Moreover, international experts predict its growth in 2023, the observer added.

As Vladimir Putin noted, sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy, and the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people. Nevertheless, according to the head of state, it was not possible to undermine Russia's financial stability, and Europe itself has reached a sanctions impasse.