Russian President Vladimir Putin came out hard on the Western nations, led by the U.S., for what he termed as "reckless and insane" sanctions against his country.
The U.S. declared victory in the Cold War and later began to think of themselves as "God's own messengers on planet Earth," Putin said while addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
In a marathon speech that lasted for over an hour, the Russian president said Russia is taking its position in the new world order in which rules would be set by strong and sovereign states.
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Referring to the slew of international sanctions imposed on the country, Putin said these attempts to damage the Russian economy didn't work. He went onto praise the Russian government enterprises and authorities for the composed and professional manner in which they worked.
"We're normalizing the economic situation. We stabilized the financial markets, the banking system, the trade system," Putin reportedly said.
He also justified Russian's invasion of Ukraine, reasoning that its smaller neighbor posed a threat due to its intention to join the NATO alliance.
Photo: Courtesy of Prachatai on Flickr
