On Friday, Vladimir Putin delivered a speech opening the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, strongly relying on the well-known theses about a “multipolar world”, while downplaying the growing economic difficulties that Russia is struggling with due to the war with Ukraine – writes the website “The Moscow Times”.
Beginning his speech with brief references to the global energy crisis and the war in the Middle East, Putin announced that the world was undergoing fundamental geopolitical and economic changes. “We are witnessing not only a transition from one phase to another, but a transformation of the development paradigm itself,” he said.
Putin's speech in St. Petersburg. “BRICS leadership is growing”
As at the previous two forums, Putin endorsed BRICS — a bloc of countries originally comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — as the main driver of this transformation.
“BRICS leadership is rising. Forecasts show this balance will continue to shift in favor of BRICS.” Putin said. “This is because economic growth rates in the BRICS countries will continue to be higher. They are higher now and will be higher. This trend will continue.”
Vladimir Putin in Davos, Russia
Putin did not mention the war in his speech. Putin's speech on Friday did not provide much specific information on how Russia intends to overcome major economic obstacles, especially those related to the costly, ongoing invasion of Ukraine, notes The Moscow Times.
At the same time, given the years of war and Western sanctions that weighed heavily on the Russian economy, Putin could not avoid referring to the country's growing macroeconomic problems.
“We are basically back to the same starting point that eurozone countries have been struggling with for years,” Putin said. “The crucial thing is that we have retained the core of our macroeconomic policy. I am convinced that our progress and development are guaranteed.”
Economy of Russia
Putin admitted that there had been a slowdown, but he placed the responsibility for improving the situation on state officials. “Yes, economic growth is currently limited. I want to remind the government of its goal: we must return to the path of sustainable economic growth next year,” he said.
“It is crucial that this economic growth is sustainable, driven by domestic demand and combined with a further reduction in inflation.” – he added.
Source: The Moscow Times
