The sanctions imposed by the West on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine are “mad and thoughtless”, President Vladimir Putin has said.
Speaking at a forum in St Petersburg, he said “the economic blitzkrieg against Russia had no chance of succeeding from the very beginning”.
He said the restrictions were “more harmful” to those who imposed them.
Western nations have been seeking to strike a balance between punishing Russia and protecting their economies.
But speaking at the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Putin claimed the EU could lose more than $400bn (£326bn) because of its sanctions against Russia.
He said inflation was increasing across the 27-member bloc and the real interests of people in Europe were being sidelined – but did not explain what that meant.
However, Mr Putin’s own officials have warned that the Russian economy is suffering serious damage from the sanctions. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Thursday that “15% of the country’s GDP” was threatened by the international response.
Ms Nabiullina also seemed gloomy about the prospects of any imminent recovery, telling delegates at a conference in St Petersburg that “it’s obvious to everyone that it won’t be as it was before”.
“External conditions have changed for a long time indeed, if not forever,” she said.
On Friday, the head of the country’s largest lender, Sberbank, warned that it could take more than a decade for Russia’s economy to return to 2021 levels.
BBC
