US is parasite on world economy: Putin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the United States is feeding on the world economy like a “parasite” by building up an unsustainable debt that threatens the global financial system.

In an address to a group of pro-Kremlin youths attending a summer camp north of Moscow on Monday, Putin accused the US of acting like a “parasite” by accumulating tremendous debts that have jeopardized global markets, AFP reported.

“The country is living in debt. It is not living within its means, shifting the weight of responsibility on other countries and in a way acting as a parasite,” Putin said.

On Sunday, US President Barack Obama announced a last-minute agreement reached by members of Congress to raise the country’s public debt limit, which will allow Washington to avoid its first default in history while enforcing a painful economic austerity plan on US citizens.

The Russian prime minister censured the United States’ foreign exchange policy and stated that the world should begin using reserve currencies other than the dollar for trade and savings.

“If the US encounters a systemic malfunction, this affects everyone,” Putin noted, adding, “There should be other reserve currencies.”

Putin said that the debt deal announced by Obama “was not that great overall because it simply delayed the adoption of a more systemic solution.”

The agreement came after interminable wrangling on Capitol Hill on the period of time the country would need to lift the debt limit to avoid a default on its staggering $14.3 trillion debt.

The US officially hit its debt ceiling on May 16, with the prospect of a default threatening to increase interest rates, devalue the dollar, and jolt economies across the world.

Washington owes about 47 percent of the money to foreigners. The biggest creditors are China, Japan, and the United Kingdom.