Russian President\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0on Wednesday accused the U.S. of wanting to maintain a \u201cdictatorship\u201d over global affairs at the expense of Europe and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin slammed the West repeatedly during a speech before business leaders gathered in far eastern Russia, saying sanctions imposed on Moscow for its\u00a0invasion of Ukraine\u00a0were a \u201cdanger\u201d to the whole world and left Europe worse off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pandemic has been replaced by new challenges of a global nature, carrying a threat to the whole world, I\u2019m talking about the sanctions rush in the West and the West\u2019s blatantly aggressive attempts to impose their modus vivendi on other countries, to take away their sovereignty, to submit them to their will,\u201d Putin told delegates at Russia\u2019s Eastern Economic Forum in the port city of Vladivostok on Russia\u2019s Pacific coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe high level of industrial development in Europe, the standard of living, social and economic stability \u2014 all of this is being thrown onto the fire of sanctions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey 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,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CNBC has contacted the White House for a response to Putin\u2019s comments and is awaiting a reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia is widely believed to have been taken aback by the West\u2019s assertive and unified response to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which began in February, with an ever-increasing number of sanctions being leveled at the Russian economy and personnel and businesses linked to the Kremlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The EU is trying to phase out energy imports, particularly of natural gas, from Russia \u2014 a move that comes at a tricky time for the bloc as it deals with rampant inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unsurprisingly, Moscow has taken a dim view of sanctions and has sought to circumnavigate the damaging economic consequences of them by turning to its allies in Asia to sell its oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has now also halted all gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1, saying sanctions prevent the pipeline from being repaired and working properly, a claim rejected by\u00a0Siemens Energy, which has supplied and maintained equipment for the supply line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sergei Guriev, professor of economy at Sciences Po and former chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, told CNBC that Russia was promoting a \u201cfalse narrative\u201d around sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe narrative is false become Putin\u2019s 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\u2019s [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].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPutin is not doing very well but what he\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the war continues to cause untold misery for civilians and death and destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations\u2019 said this week\u00a0that, from Feb. 24 when the invasion began to Sept. 4, 13,917 civilian casualties had been recorded in Ukraine with 5,718 killed and 8,199 injured \u2014 although the true number is likely to be far, far higher given the chaotic nature of recording such data during times of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced from the country during the war, with Russia accused of multiple war crimes and of repeatedly targeting civilian infrastructure, which it denies doing despite overwhelming and mounting evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. President Joe Biden has called Putin a \u201cwar criminal\u201d\u00a0but on Tuesday\u00a0refused to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a label Ukraine has called for. The EU has said Russia is \u201cweaponizing\u201d energy supplies to blackmail it into sanctions relief. Russia denies using energy as a weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia currently occupies a swathe of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine but Kyiv\u2019s forces have recently launched a counteroffensive to reclaim lost land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s president, who has been largely ostracized by developed Western countries following Moscow\u2019s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, said he believed the current situation had been precipitated by the \u201cslipping dominance\u201d of the U.S. in global politics and economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the West had been reluctant to recognize \u201cirreversible tectonic shifts\u201d in global politics and international relations, particularly a pivot east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Describing the Asia-Pacific region as a \u201cmagnet\u201d for human resources, capital and production capacities, Putin said that \u201cdespite that, Western countries are trying to maintain the old world order that only benefited them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, Putin announced that China will pay for gas from Russia\u2019s state-owned Gazprom\u00a0in both their currencies, the\u00a0ruble\u00a0and\u00a0Chinese yuan, signaling a further attempt by both countries to sideline the dollar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russian President\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0on Wednesday accused the U.S. of wanting to maintain a \u201cdictatorship\u201d over global affairs at the expense of Europe and the rest of the world. Putin slammed the West repeatedly during a speech before business leaders gathered in far eastern Russia, saying sanctions imposed on Moscow for its\u00a0invasion of Ukraine\u00a0were a \u201cdanger\u201d to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":193803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-te-public"],"yoast_head":"\n