Joe
Biden, the President of the United States, on Thursday held Russian President
Vladimir Putin responsible for the new consumer price inflation in the US. Biden’s
comments came after several media reports in the US stated that the prices have
soared over 7.9% over the last 12 months.

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Biden
alleged that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is responsible for the rising prices,
but said the sanctions the US has imposed on Russia in response are “far more
devastating” than the costs Americans are bearing at home.

“Today’s
inflation report is a reminder that Americans’ budgets are being stretched by
price increases and families are starting to feel the impacts of Putin’s price
hike. A large contributor to inflation this month was an increase in gas and
energy prices as markets reacted to Putin’s aggressive actions,” Biden said in
a statement.

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“As
I have said from the start, there will be costs at home as we impose crippling
sanctions in response to Putin’s unprovoked war, but Americans can know this:
the costs we are imposing on Putin and his cronies are far more devastating
than the costs we are facing,” he added.

Biden
also said efforts are being made to bring the prices down, including a release
from the strategic petroleum reserve, and other actions the administration is
taking to strengthen supply chains and promote competition. 

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‘Unfriendly
steps’    

Russian
President Vladimir Putin said the Western nations have taken “unfriendly
steps” towards Moscow to hide their own mistakes. Sanctions that have been
imposed against Russia are illegitimate and would have happened regardless, he
said.

“They
point to the sanctions that they impose against us as the reason for the
deterioration of their situation. It is very strange, despite the fact that we
fulfill all our obligations,” Putin told a meeting of his government ministers
in Moscow.

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Russia
is fulfilling its obligations on energy exports, he said and blamed inflation
on bans on Russian oil.

“Their
prices are rising, but it is not our fault. This is the result of their
miscalculations. Nothing to blame on us. They are trying at all costs to reach
an agreement with countries against which they themselves have imposed
illegitimate restrictions. The same will happen in relations with our country,
I have no doubt about that,” he said.

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Putin
added that with Russia and its partners, “those who do not recognize these
illegal actions,” together will “certainly find solutions to all the problems
that they are trying to create for us.”

Putin
acknowledged that sanctions will bite, but Russia has weathered such problems
in the past. “The markets will gradually re-direct themselves and will
understand that there are no such problems that we could not solve.”

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He
also warned that food prices will rise if international economic pressure on
Russia continues because it is a major global supplier of fertilizer.