Vladimir Putin has condemned Western sanctions imposed because of Russia’s war in Ukraine as a fever that poses a threat to the entire world.
Addressing a gathering at Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Pacific port city of Vladivostok, Putin said “No matter how much someone would like to isolate Russia, it is impossible to do this.”
The coronavirus “epidemic has been replaced by other challenges, also of a global nature, threatening the whole world,” Putin said in televised remarks.
“I mean the sanctions fever in the West, its undisguised aggressive attempts to impose behaviour patterns on other countries, deprive them of their sovereignty and subordinate them to their will,” Putin added.
For months Ukraine’s sea ports were blockaded by Russian forces, but since exports resumed at the start of August Russia’s leader asserted that only two grain ships had gone to Africa – which is not the case.
Russia launched its invasion on 24 February and now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory. Washington and Brussels have pummelled Moscow with a barrage of economic and personal sanctions since then.