Stories Related to Putin: Western Sanctions Only Partly Responsible For Crisis

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Western sanctions have been an important factor in the current economic crisis, but not the only one. Putin said Thursday the influence of Western sanctions acounts roughly for 25 to 30 percent of factors behind the Russian crisis. He accused the West of trying to infringe on Russia’s sovereignty, adding that the Ukrainian crisis was just a pretext for Western action.