President Putin is convinced that the elites of Western countr | Perspective

President Putin is convinced that the elites of Western countries are to blame for the world's economic turmoil.

"The continuation of the sanctions obsession, will inevitably lead to the most complex, difficult to reverse consequences for the European Union, for its citizens, as well as for the poorest nations of the world, which are already facing the risk of starvation," Putin said.

The Russian leader said that "the elites of Western countries, which are ready to sacrifice the rest of the world for the sake of maintaining their global dominance," are to blame for the economic turmoil. He cited "short-sighted, inflated political ambitions" and "Russophobia" as the reasons for the sanctions.

"These sanctions in many ways provoke a global crisis. Their authors <...> to a greater extent hit their own national interests, their own economies, the well-being of their citizens. We see it first of all in the sharp rise in inflation in Europe," Putin said, adding that on average in the eurozone "goods have added more than 11%," and in some countries, inflation is close to 20%.

The president said that, on the contrary, Russia is "confidently coping with external challenges," and Russian companies are occupying market niches after foreign "unscrupulous partners" left the country.