“No, it’s not a punishment for Crimea, it’s punishment for our natural desire to preserve ourselves as a nation, as a civilization, as a state,” he said.
Following the February coup in Ukraine, backed by nationalist and far-rights forces, the Crimean peninsula held in March a referendum on breaking away from Kiev. Over 94 percent of Crimea's population, mostly Russian speakers, opted to rejoin Russia.
Kiev and the West did not recognize the referendum, labeling it as illegal, and have since imposed several waves of sanctions against Moscow. The latest rounds of sanctions targeted Russia's energy and defense industries, as well as a number of key banks and certain individuals.
Earlier in December, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev named Western sanctions among the reasons for the recent rapid depreciation of the ruble. He added that the restrictions costed Russia several tens of billions of dollars.
