The global economy is being undermined by sanctions, and the West is essentially sawing the branch it is sitting on, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Sanctions undermine the rules of the WTO and shatter the liberal model of globalization.
Maintaining global equilibrium becomes difficult when everyone stops playing by the rules, the president said, citing the precedent of the Cyprus bailout and the “politically-motivated” sanctions against Russia over its action in Ukraine. President Putin was talking to the 11th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, RT reported.
Putin warned of the danger of mixing politics and economics, especially when nations are so deeply financially intertwined.
“Now they risk losing confidence as the leaders of globalization. My question is – why would they do it? The prosperity of the US depends on its investors, those that own dollar debt,” he said.
US Destabilizing World Order
Putin also has lashed out at the United States for destabilizing the world order of checks and balances for its own gains. He also accused the West of inflaming the situation in Ukraine and said Russia was not interested in building an empire.
He hit out at Washington for behaving without regard to the rest of the world’s interests. “The system of international relations needed some changes, but the USA, who believe they were the winners of the Cold War, have not seen the need for this.”
He added that the US has been trying to create the world “for their own gains.” He added that because of this, regional and global security had been weakened.
US’ Important Role in IS
Putin also touched on the issue of the growth of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, while also accused the West of, “turning a blind eye,” to the encroachment of international terrorism into Russia and Central Asia. Putin believes the US has played a considerable role in sponsoring the growth of Islamic extremism, using the example of Washington’s funding of the Mujaheddin in the Afghan-Soviet war in the 1980’s, which eventually gave birth to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
“It never ceases to amaze me how our partners have been guilty of making the same mistakes time and again. They have in the past sponsored Islamic extremists who were battling against the Soviet Union, which took place in Afghanistan. It was because of this the Taliban and Al-Qaeda was created,” the president added.
“The USA, which has implemented sanctions against Russia, is cutting down the branches, upon which they are sitting,” Putin added.
The reduction of nuclear arsenals was another issue, which was high on the agenda for the Russian president and once again, he was not afraid of having a dig at Washington for their reluctance to cut the number of nuclear missiles. He mentioned that unfortunately many countries see the only way to preserve their sovereignty is, “to make a nuclear bomb.”
