MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The size of the United States’ debt is worrying not only for the US, but for the entire world economy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
“The state debt of the United States is already greater than the country’s GDP. This is a very worrying thing, this is a warning signal not only for the [United] States, but for the entire economy. We don’t know yet how the situation will develop."
The level of the US national debt is a red flag for the entire global economy #Putin #DirectLine
— President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) 16 апреля 2015
At 74 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the US state debt of more than $18 trillion is currently the highest it has ever been. Since 1960, the US Congress has acted 78 times to permanently raise, temporarily extend or revise the definition of the debt limit, according to the US Treasury Department.
The Russian president also added that national debts of some EU members amounts to 174 percent of their GDP and it is unclear whether they will be able to overcome this.
"The Eurozone has a lot of problems, it is bursting at the seams. What will happen to these debtor countries whose debt stands at 174 percent of GDP, will the Eurozone leaders be able to handle those who lag behind? This is also unknown."
Russia's foreign debt currently stands at $53 billion, according to the Finance Ministry. Over the past few months, the country saw several downgrades of its foreign debt rating, in what the government said was a political decision which did not reflect the state of the Russian economy.
