ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. Western countries are using the Ukrainian crisis as an excuse to cover up their economic mistakes, Russian President Vladimir Putin said speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"They [Western countries] only benefit from the current state, the current crisis in Ukraine. This is an excuse to cover up their economic mistakes. Both in the energy sector and in finance. They brought the situation to a sharp rise in inflation. Why? Because they mindlessly poured money into their economies there, trillions," he said.

"In the United States they poured nine trillion [dollars] - I don't remember now, I'm afraid to make a mistake, in Europe [they poured] five trillion euros," Putin said.

"Inflation was spurred on, we didn't do it. They did it even before anything happened in Ukraine," the President said.

According to him, Western countries are now covering up their mistakes with the fact that Russia should be punished, and they are making Russia responsible. "No. It won't work. I don't know how Mr. President feels about our cooperation in the field of OPEC +. I think you will agree that this joint work of ours is absolutely depoliticized," Putin said addressing Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who attended the plenary session of the SPIEF.