By AFPMore by this AuthorMOSCOW,President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the West was trying to hold back an increasingly powerful Russia, during an end-of-year press conference that took aim at sanctions and "made-up" spy scandals. GROWING POWERAsked about Western sanctions against Moscow, Mr Putin said these were "connected with the growth of Russia's power." Mr Putin said the economy grew 1.7 percent over the first 10 months of the year, roughly in line with predictions, while unemployment was down. An increase to the retirement age this year provoked anger and rare street protests but Mr Putin said the hike was "unavoidable" when questioned on the subject. As Russia has become increasingly centralised under Mr Putin, questions at the conference have begun to resemble lobbying attempts to resolve specific problems.

Source: Daily Nation December 20, 2018 13:52 UTC