Putin envoy says Russian market access will save Europe from ‘civilizational suicide’

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy said Wednesday that access to Russia’s market would save Europe from a “civilizational suicide.”

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, lashed out at European politicians for their “really uncontrolled immigration policies,” which he said had led to bad economic decisions.

However, he predicted an eventual resolution to the political dispute with Washington over the Ukraine war. After pressing Putin and Russia to come to the negotiating table to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, President Donald Trump last week slapped the heaviest batch of sanctions to date on Russia’s energy sector.

Dmitriev said sanctions were harmful to oil prices, claiming they would lead to higher gas prices in the United States.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference, he said there was hope “once we solve political issues with the US.”

“US businesses will also come back to Russia. European businesses will run after the US businesses, and we’ll help to save Europe from a civilizational suicide by allowing access to the Russian market,” he said.

The Russian envoy also claimed that sanctions on Russia had so far cost US businesses around $300 billion.

“Sanctions on Russian oil will reduce oil supply to the world, will increase energy prices in the world, because Russia cannot be really substituted fully, and that will lead to higher gas prices at US gas stations,” he said. “By the way, right before midterms,” he quipped about next year’s US elections.