Moscow, Mar 19 (IANS): Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that Russia has many reliable partners in the post-Soviet space -- in China, Southeast Asia and Africa.

There are many more countries in the world than those that are part of the West, he said.

"You can proclaim yourself a 'golden billion' as much as you like, but the population on the globe is many times larger, and metals are much more expensive than gold. By the way, we also get them. And who is isolating whom now is a big question.

"Russia has many reliable partners, not only in the post-Soviet space, but also in China, Southeast Asia and African countries. This is a huge, promising market, which is not torn apart by such contradictions as in Europe. The fruits of this partnership and cooperation are more than obvious," Medvedev said, RT reported.

He added that the Russian government has already taken operational decisions to support the country's population and economy.

Medvedev also said that there would be no collapse of the Russian economy due to sanctions.

"The government has already made operational decisions to support our people and the economy: Social payments, additional financing of high-tech industries, agriculture, the banking sector - in general, there will be no collapse in the economy," Medvedev said.