Putin: West triggered global economic crisis with Russian sanctions

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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that the West has precipitated a worldwide economic catastrophe and a wave of catastrophic inflation by imposing the most punitive sanctions on Russia in recent history in response to the Ukraine conflict.

The US and its allies have slapped broad sanctions on Russia, which Putin has referred to as an economic war.

Read more: Reckless US sanctions on Russia trigger global inflation - The Global Times

However, the status quo and the US sanctions on Russia have weakened US citizens' purchasing power, causing fuel prices to soar in the country with US oil prices reaching their all-time high following a ban on Russian fuel exports. Inflation also surged following the move, putting Americans in the eye of the storm of the highest inflation in four decades.

In a TV government meeting on the economy, Putin expressed that the sanctions give way to a worldwide catastrophe that would devastate the European Union and cause famine in some of the world's poorest countries.

He stated that “the blame for this lies entirely with the elites of Western countries who are ready to sacrifice the rest of the world to maintain their global dominance."

Read more: Russian Finance Minister: Sanctions harm vulnerable countries

He added that Russia is "confidently coping with external challenges thanks to both the responsible macroeconomic policies of recent years and systemic decisions to strengthen economic sovereignty, technological and food security.”

The West's attempt to economically isolate Russia – one of the world's largest suppliers of natural resources – has pushed the global economy into unknown territory, with food and energy prices skyrocketing.

Putin used the ruble's rise as an example of Russia's strong performance under sanctions, claiming that it had become the best-performing currency this year.

The Russian ruble strengthened to 65 per dollar on Thursday, a level last seen in early 2020, owing to capital controls imposed by Moscow to protect the economy after Russia launched the operation in Ukraine. 

Putin also stated that Russia, one of the world's top wheat exporters, is on course to produce a possible record crop this year.

Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov agreed with Putin that the economy was resilient, noting that the labor market was solid and inflation had begun to drop.

According to him, the key issues confronting the Russian economy are interruptions in supply chains and a considerable decrease in imports.