Putin says he warned Europe on growing threat from US
• Russian president equates Washington’s imposition of steel and aluminium tariffs on EU to economic sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he had warned European countries years ago about the risk of the US imposing its rules on others and that they were now paying the price for ignoring him.
Speaking during an annual live television phone-in with the Russian people, Putin likened the tariffs that Washington imposed last week on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the EU to economic sanctions.
“It appears our partners thought that this would never affect them, this counterproductive politics of restrictions and sanctions. But now we are seeing that this is happening.”
The president said he had warned in a speech in Munich in 2007 about a growing US sense of exceptionalism and the risk of it imposing its own rules on other countries.
“That is exactly what is happening now. Nobody wanted to listen and nobody did anything to stop this from developing.”
Putin also accused the US of upsetting the strategic nuclear balance and said nobody should take any hasty steps. “The understanding that a Third World War could be the end of civilisation should restrain us.”
He warned neighbouring Ukraine that if it tried to make any military moves against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine while Russia hosts the impending soccer World Cup, it would suffer. “I hope that there won’t be any provocations, but if it happens I think it would have very serious consequences for Ukrainian statehood in general.”
Putin, who won re-election in March, has since 2001 used the phone-in to cast himself as a decisive troubleshooter on the home front and a staunch defender of Russia’s interests on the world stage.
Critics say the event, being held a week before the World Cup starts, is a piece of theatre designed to allow Russians to let off steam and fleetingly feel as if they can influence a bureaucratic, top-down system. Putin and his aides say it is an indispensable tool to gauge public sentiment and learn about people’s real problems.
Kremlin watchers often liken his performance to that of a tsar listening to his petitioners as he often promises to fix individuals’ household problems.
Putin had another “I told you so” message for Russian businessmen, saying he had previously warned them about the risks of keeping their assets abroad and they were now being persecuted by countries such as Britain.
Putin had been asked about the visa problems being experienced by billionaire Roman Abramovich in Britain. “I warned them that this situation, which we see today, could develop. I ... recommended at the time that our business keep its capital in Russia, in the motherland,” said Putin.
“Who is going to help them abroad? They are just persecuted there. Conditions are created to make their work impossible.”
At the start of a new presidential term and on a drive to improve living standards, the president also used the event to try to reassure Russians about the economy.
“Overall, we are heading in the right direction. We have started on the trajectory towards robust economic growth in Russia. Yes, this growth is modest, small, but it is also not a fall.”
The Russian central bank forecasts economic growth at 1.5%-2% in 2018.
Putin on Thursday dispensed with his usual studio audience, fielding questions asked by text and video.
He referred some questions to regional governors, government ministers and state company heads who were shown on giant TV monitors sitting at their desks across Russia, waiting to be quizzed.
Members of the public submitted about 2-million questions, state TV reported.
One asked why opposition leader Alexei Navalny had not been allowed to register as a candidate in the presidential election.