MOSCOW. June 26 (Interfax) - Viktor Ozerov, the head of the Federation Council's committee on defense and security, said the prolongation of the EU sanctions has no effect on the competitive power of the Russian defense industry.
"Our defense industry is one of the few segments of the Russian economy that engaged in direct competition on the world markets," Ozerov told Interfax.
Ozerov said it is an area on which the capabilities can continue to be increased.
"We are using primarily domestic technologies in the defense industry and the import substitution principle is fully working here," Ozerov said.
Ozerov said he is convinced that this area will not be affected by the sanctions in any way. "Bearing in mind the relatively low arms trade volumes between the EU and Russia, the sanctions can be called symbolic," he said.