The St. Petersburg Economic Forum has suffered this year from the Russian-launched attack on Ukraine, as a large number of Western investors have echoed due to hostilities and sanctions.
20:13 • Updated 8:21 PM
The President of Russia Vladimir Putin according to Western sanctions policy has failed.
– Sanctions are crazy and reckless. Their number and speed were unprecedented. The West’s plans were clear, to crush Russia’s economy urgently and by force, Putin said in a speech at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
Russia is almost isolated from the Western banking system and trade. The Russian economy is thought to be in a situation almost similar to that during the collapse of the early 1990s.
According to Putin, the West is most affected by sanctions
According to Putin, sanctions are more damaging to those who set them than to Russia. Putin claimed the EU could lose more than $ 400 billion due to sanctions against Russia.
According to Putin, Russian companies should invest in an economy with “giant potential” and defy Western sanctions.
According to him, Western companies and products leaving Russia will be replaced by others. Hundreds of Western companies have left Russia since the country invaded Ukraine. These include fast food chain McDonalds, carmaker Renault and Italian electricity company Enel.
Western leaders shone through their absence at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Friday. Traditionally, the gathering of the Russian political and economic elite was mainly Putin’s accusatory pointing towards the West.
Putin thinks the fault is in the West
Putin argued that the situation in Ukraine was the fault of the West and in his speech highlighted grain shipments from Ukraine to other countries. According to Putin, Russia will not block food shipments from Ukraine.
Russia has besieged Ukrainian ports and the transportation of grain by sea has stopped due to sea mines. Ukrainian grain is of great importance on world markets, especially in Africa and the Middle East.
Ukraine, for its part, does not trust Russia’s promises to allow grain to be transported from ports, through sea lanes.
According to Putin, Russia cannot be blamed for rising world grain prices, but the reason is the United States, which is printing money and thus raising prices.
Grain prices were already on the rise before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Putin also said a “special operation” in Ukraine was launched to liberate Donbas. In his appearance, he also accused the United States of meddling in conflicts in many other countries, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Leaders of other countries toured the analysis of the situation in Ukraine. For example, the leader of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his country’s economy was suffering from the conflict, but did not directly blame Russia for the situation.
Putin painted a picture of a positive relationship with other countries
Ukraine has received encouragement from the European Union today as President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyenin The Commission recommends that Ukraine formally become an EU candidate country.
According to Putin, he has nothing against Ukraine’s EU membership because it is not a military alliance.
Putin has already spoken of a possible normalization of relations with Ukraine, as long as Russia’s “operation” is over.
Chinese leader Xi Jinpingin after his speech, Putin hurried to correct that the increase in cooperation between Russia and China is not due to the current geopolitical situation but to China’s potential.
Russia has sought to increase economic cooperation with China following the collapse of Western sanctions and investors.