Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned his officials to make sure their efforts to cool down an economy driven to overheating by military spending don't overshoot and drive it into recession.
"Some specialists and experts are pointing to the risks of stagnation or even recession. This, of course, is not to be allowed under any circumstances," Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual conference to showcase the Russian economy that he had once used to attract investment from the West.
Putin gave no indication at the conference that economic problems were about to force any kind of conciliation with the West over the fate of Ukraine.
"I've often said that Russians and Ukraine are the same people," he said in a panel discussion. "In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours."
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