Putin slams Western sanctions as damaging to the global economy

By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/putin-slams-western-sanctions-as-damaging-to-the-global-economy Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Putin slams Western sanctions as damaging to the global economy World Jun 5, 2026 11:22 AM EDT ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that developing countries have gained an increasingly important role in the global economy, while the share of output by Western countries has shrunk. In a speech to the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin accused the West of undermining the global economy and finances with unilateral sanctions. READ MORE: No one hurt in maritime drone explosion at a Romanian Black Sea port By freezing Russian assets abroad through sanctions, Western nations eroded trust in their own currencies, he said. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. "The sanctions and blocking of Russia's sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro," he said. "Just like Russia, any other country could lose access to their legitimate assets in dollars or euros, as well as Western financial and payment systems." He alleged that high state debt had helped undermine global trust in Western institutions. READ MORE: House passes bill to provide more Ukraine aid and impose new sanctions on Russia "The roots of the current global turbulence lie in the transition from a vertical, hierarchical model, which served the interests of a small number of states, to a more complex, distributed and multipolar one," Putin said. "Russia views global changes not only as a threat but also as immense opportunities. And to capitalize on them, we aim to act swiftly and pragmatically." The Russian leader said the world needed a "modern, flexible and responsible financial architecture — free from risks, bans and barriers." Putin played down Russia's economic slowdown and sought to emphasize its macroeconomic stability. He noted that Russia's state debt is a fraction of that in Western countries and its budget deficit is considerably smaller, compared with the West. The forum comes at a time when Russia's economic outlook has clouded amid the conflict in Ukraine. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control. On Thursday, Putin told heads of international media at a question-and-answer session that it was an exaggeration to say Russia's economy was struggling. He noted that his government had taken deliberate steps to cool the economy to keep inflation under control. Putin has used the St. Petersburg forum, likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country's economic advances and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business