At G20 summit, Russian president says he regards sanctions over Ukraine as pointless, illegal and likely to harm world trade
Vladimir Putin has admitted for the first time that he is prepared for his country to face a catastrophic slump in oil prices, as David Cameron said Europe would have no choice but to step up sanctions if the Russian president did not abide by previous agreements to respect Ukraines independence.
Putin was speaking before a bilateral meeting with Cameron on the margins of the G20 summit in Brisbane. The meeting is likely to be a bruising affair, especially after the British prime minister likened Russia to Nazi Germany, saying Europe had learned lessons from history about how a big country could bully others.