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Putin calls on West not to blame Russia for surge in energy prices

The Russian leader drew attention to the fact that the United States is even trying to negotiate with those countries in respect of which Washington once imposed illegitimate restrictions

© Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. President Vladimir Putin believes that the West is trying to blame Russia for the surge in energy prices in the world. The head of state expressed this opinion at a meeting with members of the government on Thursday.

"The prices there (for energy carriers in the EU countries - TASS) are growing, but not through our fault. This is the result of their own miscalculations. They should not blame us for this," Putin said.

"The same applies to the surge in prices for oil and petroleum products in the United States. They announced that they were closing the import of Russian oil to the American market, prices there are high, inflation is unprecedentedly high, probably reached all-time highs. They are trying to shift blame for the results of their own mistakes on us," the Russian leader described the situation.

According to him, this is obvious to market experts, "because the supply of Russian oil to the American market does not exceed 3%."

"This is a negligible volume, and their prices are rising. We have absolutely nothing to do with it, and even here the ban on Russian oil imports has absolutely nothing to do with it. They just hide behind these decisions in order to once again deceive their own population," Putin said.

The Russian leader drew attention to the fact that the United States is even trying to negotiate with those countries in respect of which Washington once imposed illegitimate restrictions.

"They are ready to make peace with Iran, immediately sign all the documents, and with Venezuela. They went to Venezuela to negotiate, but they should not have introduced these illegitimate sanctions," the head of the Russian state said.

"The same will happen in relations with our country, I have no doubt about that," he stressed.

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