MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. The Russian economy can no longer depend on imported components and technologies, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday following talks with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz.

"We cannot continue the situation when the branches of our economy, including those affecting the prospects for the country’s rapid high-tech development, will rely on the ability to receive component kits and technologies from abroad," Russia’s top diplomat said. "This is unacceptable for us now."

According to Lavrov, Russia proceeds, above all, from reality. "We need to become as self-sufficient as possible in those sectors that have hitherto depended largely on cooperation with partners abroad," he went on. "This is not isolation, not an attempt to withdraw into autarky. This is a forced necessity."

"If the unilateral sanctions, which have never been legitimate and whose counter-productive nature is evident to everyone, if they are not extended by the European Union, of course, we will continue our cooperation, but, probably, with the allowance for the necessity to evaluate the reliability of our partners to perform their obligations," Lavrov added.

For his part, the Austrian foreign Minister recalled that the European Council had decided to link the issue of sanctions with the successful implementation of the Minsk agreements. "We would like to hope that a peaceful solution will be achieved soon, but the basic aim is full implementation of the Minsk accords, which are linked to the sanctions issue," Kurz said.