“We had calculated next year’s budget based on $50 per barrel”, he said. “I believe that this crime must be investigated and punished”.
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Putin said the campaign will continue until work begins on a political settlement.
“Within democratic procedures, Syrians must decide on who is going to govern the country”, Putin told a large gathering of Russian and foreign journalists.
Kiev and the West have accused Russia of sending regular troops to eastern Ukraine to buttress the Russian-speaking insurgency while Moscow has repeatedly denied the claim.
Putin has demanded an apology from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and damages after a SU-24 bomber was shot down and one of the pilots killed on November 24.
Mr Putin also said that Russian Federation is ready to work to improve ties with the United States, and to work with anyone who is elected its next president.
He said that he had previously agreed to accommodate Turkey’s concerns regarding Syria, adding that the Turkish leadership had never asked Russian Federation to refrain from striking that specific area. “I don’t know, if they did the right thing”, he added.
“Did they think we’d run away?”
Putin also reacted to the corruption scandals at Federation Internationale de Football Association which are overshadowing Russia’s preparations to host the World Cup in 2018. “We only have increased our presence there”. The shootdown was close to the Turkish-Syrian border.
“Turkey had constantly violated Syria’s airspace, but let them try to fly over there now”, he added menacingly.
Referring to the operational capability of the Russian troops, he stressed that it is possible to withdraw them within 48 hours, and stressed that in two days the Antonov-22 (An-22) cargo aircraft took to Syria the feeding and rest modules. Putin says that Russia’s economy is showing signs of stabilization despite plummeting oil price…
A Russian passenger plane crashed over Egypt’s Sinai region on October 31, killing all 224 people aboard.
“This was a stab in the back”, Putin said.
He urged the Ukrainian government to swiftly approve legislation on holding local elections, but he says the Ukrainian authorities were dragging their feet on the issue.
Moscow is ready and wants to develop relations with Washington whoever wins the USA presidential election in 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the annual news conference on Thursday.
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“We said: ‘Yes, we understand and are ready to help you, ‘” Putin said without providing more details.
