Putin vows to make Russia 'sovereign, self-sufficient power'

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to make Russia a "sovereign, self-sufficient" power in the face of the West, in his first campaign speech before running again for president in a March election.

"We must remember and never forget and tell our children: Russia will be either a sovereign, self-sufficient state, or it will not be there at all," Putin said during a congress of the ruling United Russia party.