Putin mocks Turkey: He touched on the inflation in the country

Russian President Vladimir Putin made assessments regarding the global economy at the international investor event titled "Russia Calling!" held in Moscow. One of the most notable moments at the event was the answer Putin gave to a question asked by a Turkish journalist regarding Turkey's inflation rate.

DID IT DROP TO 50 PERCENT? WE SHOULD CONGRATULATE THEM?

At the panel, a Turkish journalist stated that inflation in Turkey had fallen from 80 percent to the 50 percent level and asked Putin how he evaluated this situation. Putin remarked, "Did it drop to 50 percent? Wonderful! It was at 80 percent before; we should congratulate the Turkish economic team..." These words caused laughter among the Russian economic bureaucrats at the panel and found wide resonance on social media.

EMPHASIS ON ECONOMIC STABILITY IN RUSSIA

The Russian economy, which has faced heavy sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine, is expected to finish the year with an inflation rate between 8 and 8.5 percent. However, the limited cooling in the economy and the continuation of growth have led to comments praising Russia's economic policy. In his speech at the panel, Putin described European countries as "unreliable partners" and said, "We will maintain the picture of economic stability and we will not allow sanctions to wear us down."

PUTIN HAD PREVIOUSLY CITED TURKEY AS AN EXAMPLE

In a speech he gave in April, Putin had made an indirect reference to the Turkish economy. Drawing attention to the importance of the balance between interest rates and inflation, Putin had used the following expressions:

"If balance is not maintained in economic policy, it can become impossible to deal with double-digit inflation, as is the case with some of our neighbors. You can guess who I mean; for example, our friends in Turkey."