Summary Russian president also lashes out at the global influence of the United States.
SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin said Friday that sanctions imposed on Russian officials over the Ukraine crisis would backfire on Western countries.
"In the modern, interconnected world, economic sanctions as an instrument of political pressure can have a boomerang effect, and in the end they have an impact on the businesses and economies of the countries that initiated them," Putin told an economic forum in Saint Petersburg.
He also lashed out at the global influence of the United States.
"The model of a unipolar world has failed. Everyone can easily see it today, even those who try to act in the usual manner, to keep their monopoly, to dictate their rules of the game in politics, commerce and finance, to impose their cultural and behavioural norms," he said.
"The world is multipolar, people want to decide their own destinies, preserve their cultural and historical identities and civilisations," Putin said.
He said he believed Washington was pushing for sanctions on Russia to try to gain a competitive edge in Europe.
"By insisting on the use of sanctions against Russia, I suspect that our American friends -- maybe, they are subtle -- want to obtain certain advantages in their commercial and economies ties with Europe.
"For now this is not having a negative systemic effect on our economy and I hope that this will not take place," Putin said.
