BERLIN, August 8. /TASS/. The founder of the file-sharing network Megaupload Kim Dotcom believes that Germany and Russia could dominate the markets if they joined forces.

"Germany is trapped in long term economic decline because of treasonous leadership obedient to US masters. Russia and Germany would dominate the markets with combined strength," Dotcom wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter). He noted that the well-known US foreign policy goal is to "keep Germany down and Russia out."

In late July, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany reported that Germany's GDP in the second quarter of this year fell by 0.1% compared to the first quarter of 2024. Experts from the German Federal Bank (Bundesbank) had previously stated that economic growth in the spring was much weaker than expected. Before that, the IMF had lowered its outlook for German economic growth by 0.3 percentage points, to 0.2% this year. Germany's GDP fell by 0.3% year-on-year in 2023. Experts from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany noted a decrease in the purchasing power of the population at the end of last year due to rising consumer prices.