Putin says Western countries have hurt their own economies with sanctions

(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Western countries had scored an own goal by imposing sanctions against Russia over Ukraine which he said had led to a “deterioration of the economy in the West”.

Speaking on the state of Russia’s domestic economy, Putin said that inflation was stabilising and that retail demand in the country had normalised.

Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s corporate and financial system since it sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it calls a “special military operation”.

(Reporting by Reuters)