By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian economy will return to growth in about a year, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Second Caspian Economic Forum in Moscow, Mishustin said in 2024-2025 the growth will be steady, provoked by the internal consumer and investment demand.

The government expects that the Western sanctions will have long-term character and continue to calculate possible risks and mitigate their consequences, improve existing anti-sanctions tools, and develop additional response mechanisms, he noted.

"Russian economy proves its capability to adapt despite sanctions of unprecedented scale," Mishustin said.

The Caspian states experience difficulties due to turbulence in the global economy and geostrategic tension, while the West is increasing pressure on countries that are defending their national interests, he added.

"The language of ultimatums is unacceptable to us. No state has the right to impose its will on others, especially to resort to means of pressure that affect the interests of ordinary citizens and private business," he stressed.

In 2018, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov suggested the idea of holding the Caspian Economic Forum on a permanent basis to expand economic cooperation between Caspian states -- Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.