Putin offers no quick fix to crisis

President Vladimir Putin assured Russians the economy would rebound after the ruble’s dramatic slide this year but offered no remedy for a deepening financial crisis.

In an assured performance at a three-hour news conference, Putin blamed the economic problems on external factors and said the crisis over Ukraine was caused by the West, which he accused of building a “virtual” Berlin Wall to contain Russia.

Putin even cracked jokes at times, despite pressure to fix an economy that is heading into recession and caught by what his economy minister called a “perfect storm” of low oil prices, Western sanctions over Ukraine and global economic problems.