Russia says Biden 'escaping responsibilities' by blaming Moscow for America's inflation

A day after US President Joe Biden blamed Russia for unprecedented inflation in the United States, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy held POTUS responsible for skyrocketing prices of commodities in his country and said, "Looks like President Putin is governing the US as well." Notably, the prices of gas, food and most other goods and services surged in May, raising inflation to a new four-decade high. On Friday, the US President again blamed the Russian invasion of Ukraine for rising inflation in the US and Europe.  

Reacting to the Biden's statement, Polyanskiy took to the microblogging site and called the allegations "an unconvincing and futile attempt" to shift the blame and escape responsibilities. "Looks like President Putin is governing the US as well, since he can impose taxes on food and gas. Unconvincing and futile attempt by the US President to shift the blame and escape his responsibilities,"  he wrote.

Check the official tweet here:

US inflation touches historical mark

On Friday, the US Labor Department said that the consumer prices surged 8.6% last month from a year earlier, faster than April’s year-over-year increase of 8.3%. The new inflation figure, the highest since 1981, will heighten pressure on the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates aggressively. As per the report released by the department, the energy index rose 34.6% over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending September 2005. The food index increased 10.1% for the 12-months ending May, the first increase of 10% or more since the period ending March 1981. The energy index increased 3.9% in May after falling 2.7% in April. The gasoline index rose 4.1% in May after declining in April, it noted. Besides, it also said that the airline fares continued to rise-- an increase of 12.6% in May. Earlier in April, the airfares rose up to 18.6%.

(Source: Image: US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Meanwhile, accusing Putin of the tremendous increase in prices, President Biden said his administration has been doing every possible to prevent further surge in food and gas prices. He acknowledged that the prices of gas and other energy have already touched a historical mark. He, however, reiterated Putin's name for the rise. "I'm doing everything in my power to blunt Putin's price hike and bring down the price of gas and food," he said. "We're better positioned (than) just about any country in the world to overcome the global inflation we're seeing and to take the next step towards forming a historic recovery," added Biden.

Image: AP/Shutterstock