The U.S. is unable to take ``appropriate decisions'' in the midst of a global crisis of its own making, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.

``Everything that is happening in economics and finance started in the U.S.,'' Putin told a government meeting today.

``The saddest thing is that we see an inability to take appropriate decisions. This isn't the irresponsibility of particular individuals, it is the irresponsibility of a system that as we know had claims to leadership,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Nicholson in Moscow at anicholson6@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@bloomberg.net