VIDEO: Russian President Vladimir Putin claims the United States “needed” the war in Ukraine in order to cut Europe off from Russian energy and become dependent on a small “pool” of American oil suppliers. While speaking at the annual Valdai Meeting in Sochi, Putin claimed that the United States pushed for the war in Ukraine. He said, “Europe who has lost a significant part of its sovereignty to the United States…they had to follow the United States into this. They had to follow their policy of sanctions against Russia.” Putin continued, “now they are buying this energy from the United States [which is] 30% more expensive.
They’ve introduced restrictions on Russian oil. What’s the result of this? It’s not as obvious as with gas…but the result is the same. They’ve reduced the amount of suppliers and they started to buy from a smaller pool of suppliers at a higher rate.” In addition, Putin claims that because gas is more expensive in Europe, it has given the US a competitive edge over the entire European economy. #Russia #Putin Another view: The White House has previously responded to such accusations from Putin, calling his claims “textbook Russian propaganda” and “Kremlin talking points.” In addition, the United States has previously pointed to massive troop buildups along Ukraine’s border months before Russia invaded. At the time, Putin denied his country was preparing to invade and often claimed the troop movements were for training exercises.
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