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                  Russia's Putin Defends Annexation of Crimea

   by VOA News

   Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his country's annexation
   of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and accused the West of using the
   Ukraine crisis as a pretext to impose sanctions on Moscow.

   Delivering his annual state of the union speech Thursday, Putin
   referred to Crimea as Russia's spiritual ground. He called the region
   "the same as Temple Mount in Jerusalem for those who confess Islam and
   Judaism. And this is exactly how we will treat it from here for ever."

   On the subject of Western sanctions, he said, "When anyone thinks
   Russia has become strong, independent, such instruments are applied
   immediately.

   "This is not just a nervous reaction of the United States and their
   allies to our stance in regard to the events and coup in Ukraine; not
   even in regard to the so-called Crimean spring," he added. "I am
   certain that if all this did not take place ... they would come up with
   another reason to contain Russia's growing capabilities, to influence
   it or, even better, use it for its own goals."

   Economy affected by sanctions

   Russia's economic situation has unraveled since the United States and
   the European Union imposed a series of increasingly harsh economic
   sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and what they see as
   support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia had pitched itself into
   isolation through its own actions in Ukraine and could rebuild
   international credibility only by ending its support for pro-Russian
   separatists.

   Speaking at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization for
   Security and Cooperation (OSCE), Kerry said on Thursday that Moscow had
   failed to live up to its commitments under September Minsk cease-fire
   accords to end the conflict in Ukraine.

   "It is not our design or desire that we see a Russia that is isolated
   through its own actions," he said at the meeting in Basel, Switzerland.

   "In fact we are convinced that Moscow could rebuild trust and
   relationships if it simply helps to calm turbulent waters, if it takes
   steps now to implement the Minsk Protocol," Kerry added.

   Of Ukraine, Putin said, "Every nation has an inalienable, sovereign
   right to its own path of development. ... Russia always has and always
   will respect that."

   However, he said Russia was justified in intervening in Ukraine because
   the West had supported a "coup" in Kyiv, when former Ukraine President
   Viktor Yanukovych was forced from power in February.

   "What we are seeing now in Ukraine, the tragedy in the southeast, fully
   confirms that our position is right," Putin said.

   Western sanctions, coupled with a sharp decline in oil exports and the
   free fall of the Russian ruble, prompted Moscow on Tuesday to predict
   the Russian economy will further contract in 2015.

   Weakened ruble

   The ruble saw a gain in the morning when Putin began elaborating
   pro-business reforms, including an amnesty on capital returning to
   Russia, a freeze on higher taxes, and an easing of regulations for
   small businesses. However, investors were unimpressed by the promised
   reforms and the ruble weakened later in the day.

   The ruble has declined by 60 percent against the dollar since the start
   of the year, and is down by some 45 percent against the euro. On
   Monday, it suffered its biggest one-day fall since the 1998 financial
   meltdown after oil prices sank further.

   In his speech, Putin said the country's National Weath Fund should be
   used for supporting domestic banks. "We have a large amount of internal
   savings, they should become effective investments," he told members of
   parliament and other top Kremlin officials on Thursday.

   He also said as of November 1, the fund, which aims to cover future
   pension shortages, stood at $81.7 billion. He suggested using the
   reserves "for lending to the most important projects in the real sector
   of economy."

   Hours before Putin's speech heavily armed gunmen in Chechnya killed
   several police and stormed several buildings including a school in the
   capital Grozny.

   Some material for this report came from Reuters AFP and AP.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russias-putin-defends-annexation-of-crimea/2545475.html