Putin describes EU sanctions as 'theater of the absurd':
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described European Union sanctions against Moscow in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis as "absurd."
In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper published on January 11, Putin said, "What the European Union is doing with those sanctions is nothing but a theater of the absurd."
The referendum by Crimea in 2014 to separate from Ukraine and join Russia was "democracy, the people's will," Putin said.
Putin also deflected criticism of Moscow's role in eastern Ukraine, saying the peace agreement between Kyiv and the pro-Russian separatists had not been properly implemented.
He was referring to a key clause of the Minsk agreements, which stipulates a new Ukrainian Constitution that enshrines the autonomy of the separatist regions.
The president also hit out at NATO's expansion toward Russia's borders after the Soviet Union's breakup in 1991, saying the West's expansion after the Cold War exacerbated international crises.
"NATO and the U.S. wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union," he said. "They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone." (dpa, Reuters)
This ends our live blogging for January 10. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (click to enlarge):
