SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday insisted he was willing to reach out to Europe to mend relations shattered by the Ukraine crisis but insisted the West was responsible for the bad blood.
"We hold no grudge and are willing to reach out to our European partners but obviously this can't be a one-sided game," Putin told Russia's main economic forum in Saint Petersburg, insisting however that the EU's introduction of sanctions over Ukraine had started the current "collapse" in ties.