Russia’s Putin says will not wage war on anyone

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday Russia did not plan to wage war on anyone although a world order where one leader tells others what they can do would not suit Moscow.

His comments were the first from Putin since he met French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the crisis in the Ukraine on Friday.

“There clearly is an attempt to restrain our development with different means. There is an attempt to freeze the existing world order … with one incontestable leader who wants to remain as such thinking he is allowed everything while others are only allowed what he allows and only in his interests,” Putin said.

“This world order will never suit Russia…But we are not going to wage war on anyone, we are going to cooperate will all,” he said during a meeting with labor unions in the southern city of Sochi.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of fomenting pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine and supplying arms and fighters. Moscow denies the accusation.

Putin repeated that Western sanctions imposed on Russia in retaliation over its role in the Ukraine conflict would not work.

“Sanctions – in the end I think they will not bring joy to anyone and they clearly can’t be efficient with regards to a country like ours although they are causing a certain damage to us. And we should understand this and increase our sovereignty level including in the economy,” Putin said.

(The story was refiled to correct a quote in the third paragraph to change “perturb” to “freeze”)