In St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin criticizes “rash” sanctions against Russia

Published on: 06/17/2022 – 18:27 In a long speech delivered at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Russian President on Friday underlined the ineffectiveness of the sanctions adopted against Russia. He also reaffirmed his determination to continue his “special operation” in Ukraine. The Russian economy will resist the sanctions and its “special operation” in Ukraine will be carried through to completion: these are the axes of the river speech delivered by Vladimir Putin on Friday, June 17, on the occasion of the International Economic Forum of Saint- Petersburg. The Russian leader accused the West, whose colonial arrogance he castigated, of wanting to crush his country with “senseless” and “reckless” sanctions, which had no chance of working. “We are a strong people and can cope with any challenge. Like our ancestors, we will solve all problems, the whole millennial history of our country testifies to this,” Vladimir Putin said. According to him, the United States States consider themselves “God’s emissary on Earth”, Washington and its allies trying to “change the course of history” to weaken a sovereign and independent Russia. In reaction to the invasion of Ukraine launched on 24 February, the Western allies imposed against Russia the toughest economic sanctions that a country had seen in modern history. Vladimir Putin assured that the European Union could lose more than 400 billion dollars (381.5 billion euros) because of these sanctions which, according to the Russian president, would turn against those who adopted them. Russia has “nothing to do with inflation”The head of the Kremlin assured that the Russian offensive in Ukraine had no influence on the economic difficulties global issues, including energy price inflation, blaming the “systemic errors” of the West. “We all hear about so-called ‘Putin inflation’… Our actions to liberate Donbass have nothing to do with it,” he said. “It’s the result of mistakes systems of the American administration and the European bureaucracy (…) For them, our operation is a lifeline which allows them to put everything on our backs”, he continued, criticizing the “economic policy mistaken” of Western countries. “They printed, distributed money and raked all the goods from third country markets for that money.” The United States and European countries are facing runaway inflation reaching up to 11% in the United Kingdom, stimulated in particular by the rise in fuel prices. In Russia, the price increase amounts to 16.7% over one year. With Reuters