Putin Says Developing Nations Hold Larger Global Output Share

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that developing countries now hold a larger share of global output while Western economies have declined.

In a speech at the annual St.

Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin stated that Western sanctions have damaged trust in the dollar and euro by freezing Russian assets abroad. "The sanctions and blocking of Russia's sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro," he said.

Putin added that any country could lose access to assets held in dollars or euros and to Western financial systems.

Putin said Russia's state debt and budget deficit remain smaller than those of Western countries. He described steps taken to cool the economy and control inflation, while noting that the conflict in Ukraine has clouded Russia's economic outlook. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to limit the budget deficit.

Putin said Russia remains open to a compromise on Ukraine based on understandings reached at last year's summit with President Trump in Anchorage, Alaska. He rejected an immediate ceasefire, stating that Moscow seeks a comprehensive settlement rather than a temporary truce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed face-to-face negotiations in a public letter to Putin on Thursday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had not yet seen the letter and repeated that Zelensky could come to Moscow for talks. President Trump said it "would be great" if Putin and Zelensky meet.

Hours before the forum opened on Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set an oil terminal ablaze in St. Petersburg and struck a nearby naval base. On Thursday, Putin acknowledged damaging Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia and pledged to strengthen air defenses.