Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that developing countries are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy, while Western countries’ share of production is declining.
In a speech at the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Putin accused the West of harming the global economy and finances with unilateral sanctions.
By freezing Russian assets abroad through sanctions, Western countries have eroded confidence in their own currencies, he said.
“Sanctions and the blocking of Russia’s sovereign reserves have had an irreversible impact on the position of international currencies, the dollar and the euro,” he said. Just like Russia, any other country could lose access to its legitimate dollar or euro assets, as well as Western financial and payment systems.”
Mr. Putin added that high public debt had contributed to discrediting Western institutions.
“The roots of the current global turbulence lie in the transition from a vertical and hierarchical model, which served the interests of a small number of states, towards a more complex, decentralized and multipolar model,” he explained. Russia sees global changes not only as a threat, but also as immense opportunities. And to take advantage of this, we intend to act quickly and pragmatically.”
The Russian leader argued that the world needed a “modern, flexible and responsible financial architecture — free from risks, prohibitions and obstacles.”
Mr. Putin has played down Russia’s economic slowdown and sought to highlight its macroeconomic stability. He pointed out that Russia’s public debt was only a fraction of that of Western countries and its budget deficit was considerably smaller than that of the West.
This forum comes as Russia’s economic outlook is clouded by the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian government has raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control.
In a question-and-answer session with international media executives on Thursday, Putin said it was an exaggeration to say the Russian economy was in trouble. He stressed that his government had taken deliberate measures to slow down the economy in order to control inflation.
Mr. Putin used the St. Petersburg forum, often compared to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to highlight his country’s economic progress and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders have stood aside since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has sought to invite foreign participants to underline its stated goal of promoting a “multipolar world.”
Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, as well as the vice president of China, are also present. An American official, Rodney Mims Cook, director of the American Commission of Fine Arts, is participating for the first time in years.
