LONDON—President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Friday that continued sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine risked triggering catastrophic energy price rises for consumers around the world.
Putin, who casts the sanctions imposed on Russia as a declaration of economic war, said that Western calls to reduce reliance on Russian energy had made global markets “feverish” with spikes in oil and gas.
European Union customers have said they want to wean themselves off Russian gas while Group of Seven (G-7) leaders said last month that they wanted to explore “price caps” on Russian fossil fuel, including oil.
“Sanctions restrictions on Russia cause much more damage to those countries that impose them,” Putin told the leaders of Russia’s oil and gas industry, including Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak….