(VOVworld) – President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia was not and will not be isolated in the international arena.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Security Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, November 20, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

He dismissed the risk of possible "catastrophic consequences" for the Russian economy due to western sanctions combined with falling oil prices and the Ruble’s slide. Last Saturday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of trying to use sanctions imposed on Moscow in the Ukraine crisis to seek "regime change" in Russia.
The sanctions, focused on Russia’s key industries—energy, defense, and finance—have aggravated an economic downturn, which has been worsened by the slide of the Ruble against the dollar since the start of the year.