MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - A program securing Russia’s independence from US and EU imports will be approved in October, Russian Military-Industrial Commission deputy head Oleg Bochkarev said Thursday.
“In October, it will be approved by the president,” Bochkarev said.
Russia has recently been taking measures to replace imports from Western countries with possible alternatives.
Following the ban on food imports from Europe, the United States and several other countries, Russia has started talks with Ecuador, which is prepared for the possibility of increasing food exports to Russia. Mexico has expressed its readiness to boost deliveries of foodstuffs to Russia as well.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said it had drafted a program aimed at substituting imports of Ukrainian-made components with Russian-made military equipment. The ministry estimated that the Russian defense industry would be able to replace Ukrainian imports completely by 2017. Chinese military goods were also named as a potential alternative to deliveries from Ukraine.
The sanctions imposed by Western countries have also forced Russia to expand production of military spacecraft and develop an import-substitution strategy for the domestic production of spacecraft.
The substitution programs are a protective Russian countermeasure in response to Western sanctions. However, the programs are not intended to hurt Russia’s Western partners, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
The United States and European Union have been imposing sanctions on Russian officials and companies since Crimea’s reunification with Russia in March, accusing Moscow of meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs.
