Putin has responded to a quote attributed to First Deputy Head of The Presidential Administration Vyacheslav Volodin, "If there's Putin, there's Russia, if there's no Putin, there is no Russia."
Putin said, "Russia fills my whole life and I can't imagine myself without it for a second," according to Tass. "I feel an inner connection with the Russian land and the Russian people and I wouldn't be able to live outside of Russia."
"Russia, of course, can do without someone like me," he said, according to Dozhd.
Ukraine's Prime Minister has said that Russia's falling economy could harm Ukraine. It is clear that with the [ruble] falling, the Russians will try to sell their goods in Ukraine because there are competitive advantages," said Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Friday.
"I will not hide, that we helped Yaunkovych move to Crimea," Putin said, according to "Ukrainskaya Pravda."
That *is* more than 131 feet!
From our newsroom:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call to push for a quick resolution of the ongoing gas dispute with Ukraine as winter looms.
The call by Merkel to Putin on October 24 comes as representatives of the EU, Russia, and Ukraine are due to meet again next week in EU brokered talks aimed at solving the gas dispute between Kyiv and Moscow.
Merkel also underlined that upcoming elections in areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists must respect Ukrainian national law.
Pro-Russian insurgent leaders are boycotting a parliamentary snap poll on October 26 in Ukraine and are holding their own election in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, home to nearly three million people, on the same day instead.
Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of escalating conflicts around the world by imposing what he called a "unilateral diktat."
Putin made the remarks at the Valdai International Discussion Club, which is taking place in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.
He said risks of serious conflicts involving major countries have risen, as well as risks of arms treaties being violated.
In the fight against terror, Putin said the West was battling with the "results of its own politics."
He also dismissed international sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine as a "mistake," saying they would "hurt everyone."
"We did not start this," he added, referring to rising tensions between Russia and the West.