Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned Western nations for enacting sanctions that harm the poor as well as Europeans.
In the months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the European Union, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand all passed economic sanctions aimed at cutting off Russia from the global economy. This included blocking Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system, banning imports of Russian products like mineral fuels, lumber, iron and steel, and freezing the assets of certain Russian officials.
Putin described the measures as the West’s economic “aggression” that endangers the entire world while speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
“The pandemic has been replaced by new challenges of a global nature, carrying a threat to the whole world, I’m talking about the sanctions rush in the West and the West’s blatantly aggressive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 said, per CNBC.
“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 said. “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 added.
EU nations pledged to reduce the import of Russian oil as part of the collective response to the conflict, which ultimately led to a sharp increase in energy prices for consumers. The Russian government has said those impacted should question their own government’s actions.
“Problems with gas supply arose because of the sanctions imposed on our country by Western states, including Germany and Britain,” said Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, on a Sept. 5 call with reporters.
“It is obvious that Europe is getting worse for people, entrepreneurs, companies, to live and work: less money is being earned, the standard of living is falling,” continued Peskov. “And of course, ordinary citizens will have more and more questions about the leadership of their countries.”
Last week, Russian energy company Gazprom indefinitely shut down its Nord Stream 1 pipeline which carried gas to Europe. Putin said the pipeline was hazardous in its current condition and could be restarted if Europe supplied a turbine.
“There is an oil leak there — it’s a possibly explosive situation, a fire hazard. The turbine cannot work,” Putin said, per Reuters. “Give us a turbine and we will turn on Nord Stream 1 tomorrow. But they don’t give us anything.”
Western countries may introduce new sanctions against Russia in the near future.
“The government of Ukraine asked Western countries in early August to stop granting visas to and ban Russian travelers as the conflict with Russia continues. The decision could add additonal financial strain to Europeans as Russian travelers spent $22.5 billion last year in foreign countries,” per NBC News.
Russian flights are currently barred from landing in 27 countries.
