Putin recommends West not to 'pressure Russia' over Ukraine, denies having hand in fuelling war
The West should realize that attempts of sanctions pressure against Russia do not promote settlement but only complicate dialogue, including on the Ukrainian issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with the Serbian government daily Politika.
“Our partners should be fully aware that attempts to pressure Russia by one-sided illegitimate restrictive steps do not make settlement closer but only complicate dialogue,” news agency TASS quotes Putin as saying.
Speaking about Western sanctions, Mr Putin said that it was ‘difficult to understand their logic’.
Putin also denied Russia’s contribution to the ‘coup’ in Ukraine .
“It was the anti-constitutional seizure of power that became the starting point for subsequent events, including in Crimea,” he said.
Asia-Europe meeting is to start today in Milano. Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko is expected to meet with Vladimir Putin dirung the summit.
