Addressing senior diplomats in the Russian Foreign Ministry, Putin also said Russia was resolutely against any ultimatum that undermined the United Nations and was ready to continue its efforts to settle conflicts both in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.
Some overseas politicians, particularly in neighboring countries, have accused Russia of trying to exert dominance through political and economic means. One example was Moscow's backing for candidate Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine's 2004 presidential election and energy giant Gazprom's pricing policy, which U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney likened to energy blackmail in May.
But Putin responded robustly, saying, "Not everyone was ready to see Russia economically rebounding and gaining better positions on the world arena."
He added that some countries saw Russia through the prism of old prejudice and considered the country's revival as a threat.
"We propose another way, the way of assessing any country's foreign policy on the basis of international law and uniform standards," he said.
The Russian leader said he was surprised about neighboring nations' reaction to Russia's decision to charge market prices for energy supplies.
Gazprom is continuing to move toward European prices for natural gas - a move that sparked the conflict with Ukraine in January when it sought to quadruple the prices Kiev paid - for other former Soviet republics.
"It is difficult to understand why a natural and transparent decision to introduce market energy prices for some our neighbors has caused such a hysterical, nervous reaction," Putin said.
In particular, Ukraine, which Gazprom accused of siphoning off European-bound gas after it turned off the taps, has reacted angrily to Russia's proposals. Prime minister-designate Yulia Tymoshenko has suggested that she will seek a revision of deals with Moscow.
Putin said the economic aspect of the move had come under no fire, which meant that neighbors' criticism was exclusively politicized, although he admitted that Russia should have explained its energy plans in advance.
Staying within the former Soviet Union, Putin said Russia would continue its peacekeeping missions in the Commonwealth of Independent States and urged the international community to apply common approaches to conflict resolution.
"We will continue our peacekeeping mission despite open provocations we often encounter," the president said in an apparent reference to a series of incidents in the conflict zone between Georgia and South Ossetia, one of its breakaway regions, late last year.
Russia's operation in South Ossetia has been receiving more attention than the other three post-Soviet peacekeeping missions, as Georgia, which accuses Russia of backing regimes in its two breakaway territories, might demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from South Ossetia and Abkhazia in July.
Russia says Georgia's new Western-leaning government was trying to oust it from the region and is opposed to the withdrawal, which it says might provoke a new bloody conflict.
The president said Russia had consistently called for the same principles to be applied to conflict situations throughout the world.
"Principles for the resolution [of conflicts] must be universal and rely on international law and respect for the interests of the peoples involved in the conflict," Putin said, referring to efforts being taken to solve problems in the former Yugoslavia, Cyprus and other regions.
Putin also pledged that Russia would play a proactive role in the Middle East peace process.
"Both on the bilateral level and as party to the 'Quartet' of international mediators [which also includes the U.S., EU, and UN], Russia is determined to play a proactive role in the Middle East peace process," he said, adding that Russia's traditional contacts with Arab countries had been complemented with close dialogue with Israel in the past few years.
But with Israel and the U.S. leading the charge for sanctions to be imposed on Iran over its controversial nuclear programs, Putin reiterated Moscow's support for the UN.
"We do not intend to join any form of ultimatum that lead to a dead-end and strike a blow against the authority of the UN Security Council," he said.
"I am sure that conflict resolution should involve dialogue and not isolation of any states," he said.
Iran has come under intense international pressure to halt its uranium-enrichment program, which the Islamic Republic says is for civilian purposes but other countries suspect is being used as cover for a weapons program. The United States, France, and Britain have called for the UN Security Council to impose sanctions.
