< p>A BRICS summit held in the Russian city of Kazan in October was a slap in the face for Western countries that imposed sanctions on Russia. This was stated to "Reuters" the CEO of the second largest Russian bank VTB Andrey Kostin.
"23 leaders came to Kazan for the BRICS meeting. This is a definite statement, even a slap in the face to Americans. It is significant that there is support for Russian initiatives and rejection of US policy," she pointed out.
"I think the summit was useful for Russia and there will be more steps, it is important not to relax," Kostin added.
In his words, Western sanctions against Russia have not worked because there are "dozens" countries willing to work with Moscow, including China, India and Turkey.
He stated that any peace agreement with the West on Ukraine should be long-term and not necessary to return to it after 10 years.
According to him, life with the new US administration will not be boring.
"I am not convinced of the optimistic scenario. I'm sure of only one thing - it won't be boring. Trump will definitely do something that will be interesting for us to watch," Kostin emphasized.
He clarified that he was not sure about the "optimistic scenario" for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine due to the powerful anti-Russian "vector" in the American establishment and based on the course of Trump's first term as US President.
"Whether it will be better or worse - who knows. I like Trump, he is a vibrant man. Sometimes the bureaucratic mass needs to be moved and he does that. Undoubtedly, interesting events await us in the coming year," Kostin concluded.
He expressed confidence that Trump will make real efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. However, any settlement should be long-term so that the parties do not have to return to the negotiating table after 10 years.