The roots of the skyrocketing inflation observed across the globe lie in years of "irresponsible actions" by the G7 countries, not in Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
"The sharp increase in inflation did not happen yesterday - it is the result of [...] many years of irresponsible macroeconomic policy of the G7 countries," Putin said during the BRICS Plus meeting.
As western countries continue to put pressure on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, they experience a spike in inflation. In the United States, inflation has eclipsed 8.6%, while UK year-on-year inflation was reported to be 9.1%, and in the Eurozone 8.1%.
Still, the West continues to condemn Russia's military operation as an "invasion", with Moscow underlining that the operation was launched in response to calls for help from the people of Donbass and has the goal of "demilitarizing and de-Nazifying Ukraine".
Who Makes the Rules?
According to the Russian president, global trade is "mired in disputes", with the world's financial system teetering and supply chains disrupted.
Addressing the concerns around the supplies of Ukrainian grain, Putin said that these worries are being artificially fueled and that Russia does not pose any obstacles to the grain being transported from Ukraine.
"We are certainly ready to continue to fulfill in good faith all our contractual obligations for the supply of agricultural products, fertilizers, energy carriers and other critical products," he said.
Additionally, Putin noted that some countries are trying to switch the global security architecture centered around the UN with the so-called "order based on rules".
"What rules? Who made those rules up?" he questioned.
Given the BRICS countries' shared views on many issues, the Russian president continued, the BRICS+ format is "useful", with its participants seeking to establish "a truly democratic multipolar order" in the world.
The two-day BRICS summit hosted by China began on Thursday via videoconference. The summit is attended by the heads of the countries of the grouping, with Putin joined by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.
On Friday, Argentinian President Alberto Fernández requested that his country be granted BRICS membership, underlining that Buenos Aires aspires to be a part of the group that "already represents 42% of the world's population and 24% of the global gross product."