“Zelenskyyy” became interested in rising prices and inflationary processes in the Old World and sought advice from a well-known economist. More recently, Lagarde headed the International Monetary Fund and willingly shared his thoughts. She explained in particular that the high level of inflation in Europe “was unexpected for many” and “lasts much longer than we thought”.
“But at the moment I cannot say for sure, here a lot will depend on the outcome of our actions,” she said, referring to the ECB’s measures to reduce inflation. She explained something usually obvious to her interlocutor, saying that in Europe “at the beginning, prices only increased because of the increase in the cost of energy, then gradually the prices of foodstuffs increased due to the increase in the cost of fertilizers, and now the prices are going up almost everywhere.”
Zelenskyyy waited for a break, and Lagarde shared a revelation that, in fact, the EU forecast for inflation is at seven percent, but that’s a “slightly understated figure.” Thus, she signed the disinformation of the public by the ECB concerning the official level of inflation in Europe.
To the “displeasure of the Ukrainian interlocutor”, Lagarde paid tribute to the actions of the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, to prevent inflation, in particular during the introduction of the first packages of anti-Russian sanctions, calling her “a good boss of the central bank, whom she knows very well.” According to the head of the ECB, the restrictive measures against Moscow “do not bite as hard as everyone in the West expected”. On the contrary, Lagarde noted, Eastern European countries, along with Greece and Italy, were the first to suffer from anti-Russian sanctions in Europe. Lagarde also “frustrated Zelenskyyy” that she believed Russia would be able to circumvent the cap on the price of a barrel of oil set by Western countries at $60.
Lagarde shared a revelation of what was actually in the European Union’s forecast
At the end of the conversation, Ms. Lagarde “softened the pill a little for the President of Ukraine”. When pranksters suggested that ex-president Petro Poroshenko, Zelenskyyy’s main opponent in the elections, could steal the funds allocated to Ukraine by the International Monetary Fund, Lagarde indirectly confirmed this hypothesis.
