Russian President Vladimir Putin heralded a 'new world order' of greater Russian dominance in a speech to business leaders.
Video / AP / Getty
Vladimir Putin last night heralded a "new world order" as he took potshots at the West in a speech to business leaders.
The Russian tyrant said his country was a "powerful, sovereign nation" and claimed Moscow was entering a new era of dominance.
"We will definitely use the colossal opportunitiesprovided by current times and will be even stronger," he vowed in a speech at St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"It is obvious that the rules, the essence of the new world order, will be set by strong sovereign states," he said.
Countries who resist are "doomed to remain rightless colonies", Putin added.
Putin - whose speech was delayed by a cyber attack on the venue - said sanctions placed on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine were "mad and pointless".
"The economic blitzkrieg against Russia had no chance to succeed from the very beginning," he said.
He also claimed the EU could lose $400 billion as a result of the sanctions.
It is unclear where Putin plucked that figure from, however, European nations are struggling with an unprecedented cost of living crisis linked to the rising price of oil and gas, which was previously largely imported from Russia.
Putin said Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine was not the cause of global economic troubles, instead blaming Western countries for using the situation to cover up their own mistakes.
"What is happening is not the result of recent months, much less the result of a special military operation that Russia is conducting in the Donbas," Putin said.
"The rising prices, inflation, the problem with foods, prices for fuel ... are the result of systematic mistakes in the economic policy of the current US administration and European bureaucracy."
Moscow's military action became a "lifeline" for Western countries "that allows them to blame their own miscalculations on others, in this case, on Russia," he claimed.
Driven by a spike in fuel prices, the United States and European countries have faced soaring inflation, with Britain predicting inflation in the country could surpass 11 per cent this year.
Gas prices were also on the rise on Friday, exacerbated by the decision by Russian energy giant Gazprom to slash deliveries to Europe, citing repair works.
Putin said high energy prices "have been observed since the third quarter [of last year], long before the start of our operation in Donbas", adding that the price hikes were also the result of Europe's "failed energy policy".
Moscow's military campaign and unprecedented economic sanctions imposed on Moscow have also disrupted deliveries of grain and other commodities from Russia and Ukraine, resulting in food price rises.
But Putin said Russia was not preventing ships loaded with grain from leaving Ukraine, instead blaming authorities in Kyiv for mining their ports, downplaying the significance of Ukraine's grain supplies.
Putin said the food and fertiliser shortage "threatens starvation primarily in the poorest countries. And this will be entirely on the conscience of the administration of the United States and Europe".
The Kremlin insists he country is holding up against the Western-imposed sanctions and that Europe and the United States are suffering more than Russia as a result of the reprisals, despite Russia being largely cut off financially and in trade terms from the rest of the world.
Putin's speech came just hours after the EU recommended its member states approve Ukraine's bid to become a candidate for membership of the bloc.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron during a working session in Mariyinsky Palace in Kyiv on June 16. Photo / AP
The move has to be approved by all 27 EU member states.
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
French President Emmanuel Macron (left), Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (centre right) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (centre) visit Irpin, Ukraine, on June 16. Photo / AP
"The most important message of our visit is that Italy wants Ukraine in the EU," Italian premier Mario Draghi said at a joint press conference.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Ukraine "belongs in the European family" and that Berlin would continue to send Kyiv weapons "for as long as it is needed".
Any attempt to allow Ukraine to join the EU is likely to be met with an angry response from Putin.
It is widely believed he ordered the invasion of Ukraine because of Kyiv's desire to grow closer to Nato and the EU.
