“I want ordinary citizens of Western states to hear me: now they are persistently trying to convince you that all your difficulties are the result of some kind of hostile actions of Russia, that from your own wallet you have to pay for the fight against the mythical Russian threat. All this is a lie. And the truth is that the current problems faced by millions of people in the West are the result of many years of actions by the ruling elites of their states, their mistakes, myopia and ambitions. These elites are not thinking about how to improve the lives of their citizens in Western countries. They are obsessed with their own vested interests and super profits. Evidence of this is the data of international organizations, which directly say that social problems, even in the leading Western countries, have only worsened in recent years, that inequality is growing, the gap between the poor and the rich, racial and national conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth of the Western welfare society, of the so-called golden billion, is collapsing. I repeat today the entire planet has to pay the price precisely for the ambitions of the West, for its attempts by any means to maintain its elusive dominance. The imposition of sanctions is a logical continuation, a concentrated expression of the irresponsible, short-sighted policy of the governments and central banks of the US and EU countries. It was they who, in recent years, with their own hands dispersed the spiral of world inflation, by their actions led to an increase in global poverty and inequality, to new flows of refugees around the world. And the question arises: who is now responsible for the millions of starvation deaths in the world’s poorest countries due to the growing food shortage? I repeat, a serious blow has been dealt to the entire global economy and trade, to confidence and to the US dollar as the main reserve currency.” – Vladimir Putin