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President Vladimir Putin has sought to ease fears over Russia's economy, insisting that the dramatic fall in the rouble will stabilise.

Speaking at his end-of-year news conference, which lasted over three hours, he blamed "outside factors" for the currency hitting an all-time low.

But he admitted Russia's central bank could have acted more swiftly.

Russia is on the verge of recession due to falling oil prices and sanctions over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

However, the president denied pursuing an "aggressive" foreign policy and accused the US and EU of conspiring to weaken Russia.

Mr Putin accepted Russia had failed to diversify its economy for the past two decades and relied too heavily on its oil and gas exports.

But he insisted the nation's currency reserves were sufficient to keep the economy stable, saying the central bank should not "burn" its $419bn reserves.


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