"International economy is seriously affected by illegitimate sanctions": Putin at BRICS Business Forum

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a pre-recorded message played at the BRICS Business Forum said that the international economy is affected because of the freezing of assets of sovereign countries and implied sanctions which he called illegal. The Russian President said, “The international economic situation is also seriously affected by the illegitimate sanction practice and illegal freezing of assets of sovereign states which essentially amounts to their trampling upon all the basic norms and rules of free trade and economic life.” President Putin spoke about increased prices of agricultural products and crops and added that the impact of this inflation has made poor countries more vulnerable than others. Putin further said, “Norms and rules that not so long ago seemed immutable… Resource shortages, rising unemployment and aggravation of other chronic problems of the world economy are the direct consequences. Prices for food, basic agriculture products and crops have skyrocketed and … poor countries are hit hardest.” He further said, “In these circumstances, BRICS states have stepped up their interaction and our joint work to ensure economic growth and sustainable development that brings concrete tangible results.” The BRICS summit is being held from August 22-24. BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This year’s BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year’s summit is: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism.” This will be the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the United States, along with the G7 nations and European Union (EU) imposed severe and immediate economic costs on Russia for its “atrocities in Ukraine, including in Bucha”. The sweeping financial sanctions came after US action to cut off Russia’s frozen funds in the United States to make debt payments. The US has announced full blocking sanctions on Russia’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, and Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa Bank. This action freezed any of Sberbank’s and Alfa Bank’s assets touching the US financial system and prohibits US persons from doing business with them. The US has also prohibited new investment in the Russian Federation as President Joe Biden signed a new Executive Order that includes a prohibition on new investment in Russia by US persons wherever located, aimed at isolating Russia from the global economy.