Putin calls Ukraine war sanctions ‘insane’ in combative speech

THE GUARDIAN: Vladimir Putin has delivered a combative speech repeating his critique of the west and saying the sanctions “blitzkrieg” against Moscow never had any chance of succeeding.

“If they are exceptional, then that means that everyone else is second class,” the Russian president said of the US. “They live in the past on their own under their own delusions.”

In the speech, delivered at the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum in front of much of Russia’s political and business elite, Putin sought to reassure his country that the economy was capable of overcoming sanctions that he called “reckless and insane”.

“We are strong people and can cope with any challenge. Like our ancestors, we will solve any problem, the entire thousand-year history of our country speaks of this,” he said.

Putin also said the EU had completely lost its “political sovereignty”, criticising the bloc for introducing sanctions against Russia on supposed orders from the US. “European countries dealt a serious blow to their own economies all on their own,” he said.

In his speech, which lasted well over an hour, Putin sought to further stress that the west was falsely linking economic turmoil in their countries to the war in Ukraine to distract the public from the actual reasons behind spiralling inflation.

“We all hear about so-called Putin inflation in the west,” he said. “When I see this, I always think: ‘Who’s this meant for, this stupidity? For someone who doesn’t know how to read or write.’” He said uncontrolled monetary spending in the west was at fault.

Putin also accused the west, rather than Russia, of being responsible for looming food crises by “snapping up” supplies. “Famine in the poorest countries will be on the conscience of the US administration and the Eurocrats,” he said.

The Russian leader steered away from discussing Russia’s war in Ukraine. In a brief mention of the invasion, Putin said Russia was determined to continue the “special military operation” that will soon enter its fourth month.

During the question and answer session that followed, the Russian leader called his country’s actions in Ukraine “absolutely legitimate”. He also joked about rumours concerning his health. “Like Mark Twain once said: ‘The rumours about my death were greatly exaggerated.’”

Russia has for years welcomed world leaders and western executives at its annual economic forum in St Petersburg, known as the “Russian Davos”. But few of the global financial elite were at this year’s event, with Moscow isolated by sanctions over its actions in Ukraine.

“Foreign investors are not only from the United States and European Union,” Peskov said, defending the lack of western leaders. Some of the notable foreign attendees were delegates from the Central African Republic and officials from Cuba, Venezuela and Myanmar, as well as members of the Taliban.

Putin’s close ally, the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, and Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, with whom Putin shared the stage on Friday, were in attendance.

Russian business and state officials who attended the sessions praised the country’s new direction, claiming Russia was faring better under sanctions than initially expected as it faced unprecedented international isolation.

“This is the best economic year for Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union,” said the Kremlin-linked businessman Konstantin Malofeyev.