Putin dismisses Western 'blitzkrieg' against Russia

Leader determined to continue military operation in Ukraine amid sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia had weathered Western sanctions and an economic "blitzkrieg" against Moscow had never had any chance of succeeding.

In a speech delivered at the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, or SPIEF, in Russia's second-largest city, Putin accused the United States of treating other countries as "colonies", and said gloomy forecasts for the Russian economy had not been fulfilled.

The West imposed the most severe economic sanctions that any nation has faced in modern history since Moscow started a special military in Ukraine on Feb 24.

Putin drew applause from the hall when he reaffirmed the determination to continue the operation.

Putin said the operation was difficult but needed, adding that the European Union could lose more than $400 billion due to the sanctions, which he said would rebound on those who had imposed them.

The EU had lost its "political sovereignty", he said, as it had started down a track that would lead to radicalism, as he criticized the bloc's economic policies such as "printing money" to address high inflation and inequality.

The Russian leader also said his country was not to blame for rising prices on the global grain market.

Putin accused the US of driving up food prices by printing money and "snapping up" food on global markets, adding that Moscow stood ready to boost its exports of grain and fertilizers, and that Russia would send food exports to Africa and the Middle East.

During a denunciation of the West, Putin said:"Nothing will be as it used to be in global politics."

'New opportunities'

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Putin's speech is extremely important as "economies were taken hostage by politics, and politicians in many countries made a large number of mistakes amid the COVID-19 pandemic".

The annual forum, often dubbed the Russian Davos, is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. This year, the four-day event will last until Saturday under the theme: "New Opportunities in a New World".

Before the plenary session, Putin met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Milorad Dodik, Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Peskov, some things of the forum are being changed due to realities. For example, Putin's traditional meeting with heads of global news agencies will not take place.

Instead, the Russian president met with military correspondents, heads of news divisions, as well as the chiefs of Russian TV, print, and Internet media.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also delivered a speech via video link at the forum on Friday.

Oleg Deripaska, a Russian industrialist, said he was glad to watch the Chinese leader speak at one of Russia's most important economic forum.

He said the two neighbors enjoy good relations across many spheres including education, culture and tourism. He suggested that the two countries could enhance cooperation over joint processing of raw materials, which will further increase both sides' competitiveness in the global market.

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that some Russian companies had already rerouted part of their exports from the West to the East amid sanctions.

Agencies via Xinhua contributed to this story.