WORLD> Europe
Putin confident of bracing crisis
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-05 07:48

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin predicted Thursday that Russia would weather the global economic crisis with "minimal losses" and he pledged to maintain rises in social spending and avoid a sudden devaluation.

Facing questions about rising inflation, housing problems and job losses in an annual question-and-answer session with the Russian people, a sombre Putin blamed the United States for "infecting" leading world economies with the crisis.

But he offered an olive branch to the new administration of President-elect Barack Obama. Russia could see "positive signals" that strained relations would improve after Obama took office, he said.

In the session, Putin praised NATO for not setting out a firm timetable for Georgia and Ukraine to join.

There were signs also, he said, that Obama's team was reconsidering the deployment of an anti-missile system in eastern Europe.

"We hear that one should build relations with Russia, taking into account its interests," Putin said.

"If these are not just words, if they get transformed into a practical policy, then of course our reaction will be appropriate and our American partners will feel this at once."

There was no such comfort for neighbouring Ukraine, which has angered Moscow by pursuing an aggressively pro-Western foreign policy and failing to pay its large gas bills on time.

Putin ruled out concessions to Kiev on gas prices, saying it was already paying much less than other European countries and threatened to cut off supplies if any Russian gas was siphoned off during transit through Ukraine.

"If our partners do not follow agreements or illegally siphon off our gas from transit pipelines as they did in previous years, then we will be forced to cut deliveries. What else can we do?" he said.