Speaking to reporters in Moscow on Dec.18, Russia's president, Vladimir V. Putin, claimed that economic sanctions were not primarily a response to the annexation of Crimea but part of a long-running plot by Western powers to weaken his nation and steal its natural resources.
New York Times: Putin cites claim about US designs on Siberia traced to Russian mind readers
Russian President Vladimir Putin ponders during his annual press conference in Moscow on Dec. 18, 2014.
