MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a scathing critique of the United States Friday in what the Kremlin billed as a major speech — blaming the U.S. rather than Russian military actions in Ukraine for fostering crises in global relations, food security, inflation and trade.
Americans "think of themselves as exceptional. And if they think they're exceptional, that means everyone else is second class," Putin said in a more than 70-minute marquee address at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
