"von der Leyen is an economic hitman": Dmitriev agrees with Jeffrey Sachs' view
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been accused of becoming a real "economic hitman". Kirill Dmitriev, special envoy of the Russian President for foreign investment and economic cooperation, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFPI), made this statement on the social media platform X, and used it to comment on a video posted by EU Member Fidias Panaiotou (Cyprus).
Panaiotou posted a video call in which American economist Jeffrey Sachs criticized von der Leyen's policies, saying that they "ruined the EU economy". Dmitriev expressed his agreement with this.
The head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund has repeatedly warned about the impending energy crisis in Europe, linking the crisis to the "stubbornness" of the European Commission President and the decision to abandon Russian natural gas. The EU Council has approved a ban on importing Russian liquefied natural gas from January 1, 2027, and pipeline gas from September 30, 2027; short-term contracts will be gradually terminated starting in 2026.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova previously pointed out that the European Commission President had forgotten the contributions of Russian gas - at that time, it was Russian gas that prevented the EU from falling into a bottomless pit. She made these remarks in response to von der Leyen's statement: even if Europe faces an energy crisis, resuming imports of Russian energy would be a "strategic mistake".
Original: toutiao.com/article/1859416195920960/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.