Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as important state officials from China, Armenia, Mongolia and Myanmar, attended the panel titled “On the Way to a Multipolar World” organized within the framework of the 7th Eastern Economic Forum, which took place in the Far East region of Russia. Indian PM Narenda Modi, Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Tinh sent a video message to the panel.

In his speech at the forum, Putin said, “The fire of sanctions from the West was aggressive attempts to impose patterns of behavior on other countries, to deprive them of their sovereignty and subjugate them to their will.”

“European businesses are losing competitiveness because EU officials are actually depriving them of affordable raw materials, energy resources, and sales markets,” Putin said, referring to economic sanctions and the consequences of European companies leaving Russia. “As a result, it is not surprising that European trade in general, both on the continent and globally, is dominated by its US clients,” Putin said.