Russia gaining in standoff with the West, Putin says

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia－Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his country has not lost anything in a confrontation with the United States over the conflict in Ukraine but has actually gained by setting a new sovereign course.

Putin casts the conflict in Ukraine, which he calls a "special military operation" that started on Feb 24, as a turning point in history.

"In terms of what we have gained, I can say that the main gain has been the strengthening of our sovereignty, and this is the inevitable result of what is happening now," Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. "This will ultimately strengthen our country from within."

He said the COVID-19 pandemic has been replaced by other global challenges "threatening the whole world", including "sanctions fever in the West".

Putin said the West was failing because a futile and aggressive attempt to isolate Russia with sanctions was destroying the global economy just as Asia was rising for the future. Putin welcomed the growing role of the Asia-Pacific region in global affairs.

"In an attempt to resist the course of history, Western countries are undermining the key pillars of the world economic system built over centuries," he said, adding that confidence in the dollar, euro and sterling was falling.

Putin said Russia's economy was coping with what he termed the financial and technological aggression of the West, but acknowledged some difficulties in some industries and regions.

He warned of a looming global food crisis and said he would discuss amending a landmark grain deal with Ukraine to limit the countries that can receive cargo shipments. Putin said he wanted to discuss reopening a United Nations-brokered deal that allows Ukraine to export its grain via the Black Sea.

Moscow said at the time that one of the main reasons it signed the deal was because it wanted to help developing countries stave off food shortages.

But Putin said on Wednesday that Ukraine and the West were not honoring the agreement's terms and that most of the grain was going to the European Union, not to poorer countries, something the Russian leader said would have to change if what he called an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe" was to be averted.

Putin also denied that Moscow was using energy as a weapon.

"We supply as much as required according to requests" from importers, Putin said.

Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Friday that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would remain shut for repairs. It had been due to reopen at the weekend after three days of maintenance.

The Kremlin says the sanctions have blocked the return of a Siemens turbine that had been undergoing repairs in Canada.

"Give us a turbine, we will turn Nord Stream on tomorrow," Putin said. "We are ready to do this tomorrow, just need to press a button. But we were not the ones who introduced sanctions."

On Tuesday, Gazprom said China will start paying for Russian gas in roubles. "A transition was made to making payments for Russian gas supplies to China in the national currencies of the countries－the rouble and yuan," Gazprom said in a statement.

Agencies Via Xinhua