Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the West has been reluctant to acknowledge “irreversible tectonic shifts” in worldwide relations and that the Asia-Pacific area has develop into a magnet for human sources, capital and manufacturing capacities.
Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused the U.S. of wanting to preserve a “dictatorship” over world affairs on the expense of Europe and the remainder of the world.
Putin slammed the West repeatedly throughout a speech to enterprise leaders gathered in far japanese Russia, saying sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine had been a “danger” to the entire world and left Europe worse off.
“The pandemic has been replaced by new challenges of a global nature, carrying a threat to the whole world, I’m talking about the sanctions rush in the West and the West’s blatantly aggressive attempts to impose their modus vivendi on other countries, to take away their sovereignty, to submit them to their will,” Putin advised delegates at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum within the port metropolis of Vladivostok on Russia’s Pacific coast.
“The high level of industrial development in Europe, the standard of living, social and economic stability — all of this is being thrown onto the fire of sanctions,” he added.
“They are being wasted on orders from Washington in the name of so-called Euro-Atlantic unity. Though in reality, they are basically being sacrificed in the name of preserving the U.S. dictatorship in global affairs,” Putin mentioned.
CNBC has contacted the White House for a response to Putin’s feedback and is awaiting a reply.
Russia is broadly believed to have been shocked by the West’s assertive and unified response in opposition to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which started again in February, with an ever-increasing variety of sanctions being leveled on the Russian economic system and personnel and companies linked to the Kremlin.
The EU is making an attempt to section out power imports, significantly of pure fuel, from Russia — a transfer that comes at a tough time for the bloc because it offers with rampant inflation and a cost-of-living disaster.
Unsurprisingly, Moscow has taken a dim view of sanctions and has sought to circumnavigate the damaging financial penalties of those by turning to its allies in Asia to promote its oil. It has now also halted all gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, saying sanctions forestall the pipeline from being repaired and dealing correctly, a declare rejected by Siemens Energy which has equipped and maintained tools for the pipeline.
Sergei Guriev, professor of economic system at Sciences Po and former chief economist on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, advised CNBC that Russia was selling a “false narrative” round sanctions.
“The narrative is false become Putin’s economy is hurt when you look at the actual numbers. in the second quarter of 2022, GDP was 6% below the first quarter, this is an amazing speed in the fall of GDP. When you look at the decline in retail trade turnover, the consumption of goods and services by Russian households, that’s [seen] about a 10% decline. When you look at fiscal affairs, July saw about a deficit of about 8% of GDP and that was with an oil price of around $100 [a barrel].”
“Putin is not doing very well but what he’s doing with his gas blackmailing in July and August is trying to divide Europe … and to [try to] make sure that Europeans will stop pushing the sanctions.”
‘War prison’
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the battle continues to trigger untold distress to civilians and demise and destruction.
The United Nations’ said this week that, from Feb. 24 when the invasion started to Sept. 4, 13,917 civilian casualties had been recorded in Ukraine with 5,718 killed and eight,199 injured — though the true quantity is probably to be far, far greater given the chaotic nature of recording such knowledge throughout instances of battle.
Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced from the nation throughout the battle, with Russia accused of a number of battle crimes and of repeatedly concentrating on civilian infrastructure, which it denies doing regardless of an amazing and mounting quantity of proof.
U.S. President Joe Biden has called Putin a “war criminal” however on Tuesday refused to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a label Ukraine has referred to as for. The EU has mentioned Russia is “weaponizing” power provides to blackmail it into sanctions aid.
Russia at present occupies a swathe of territory in japanese and southern Ukraine however Kyiv’s forces have just lately launched a counteroffensive to reclaim misplaced land.
Pivot eastward continues
Russia’s president, who has been largely ostracized by developed Western nations following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, mentioned he believed the present scenario had been precipitated by the U.S.’s “slipping dominance” in world politics and economics.
He mentioned the West had been reluctant to acknowledge “irreversible tectonic shifts” in world politics and worldwide relations, significantly a pivot east.
Describing the Asia-Pacific area as a “magnet” for human sources, capital and manufacturing capacities, Putin mentioned that “despite that, Western countries are trying to maintain the old world order that only benefitted them.”
On Tuesday, Putin introduced that China can pay for fuel from Russia’s state-owned fuel firm Gazprom in each their currencies, the ruble and Chinese yuan, signaling an additional try by each nations to sideline the greenback.
“Western countries have undermined the key pillars of the world economic system built over centuries,” Putin mentioned.
“We have seen the loss in trust in the dollar, and the euro and the pound as the currencies in which you can carry out transactions, hold deposits or assets and that is why, step by step, we are moving away from the use of these unreliable, compromised currencies,” he mentioned.
Russia itself is dealing with a tough winter with the central financial institution forecasting a deepening contraction within the third quarter.
Gross home product will fall by 7% within the third quarter after contracting by 4.3% within the second quarter, Reuters reported final month citing a report from the central financial institution. The financial institution forecast that the economic system will begin recovering within the second half of 2023. Inflation stood at 15.1% in July, above the EU rate of 9.8% in the same month.
Speaking to enterprise leaders Wednesday, Putin mentioned Russia would submit a finances surplus this 12 months and that GDP would fall by “around 2% or a little more.”
