DHAKA: President Vladimir Putin has insisted Russia’s under-fire currency, the rouble, will stabilise, but warned the economic crisis could last two years.

He is currently holding his annual end-of-year news conference, reports the BBC.

Putin blamed ‘outside factors’ for the falling rouble but admitted the central bank could have acted sooner.

He also accepted Russia had failed to diversify its economy, which has been hit by falling oil prices and sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

Putin insisted the nation’s currency reserves were sufficient to keep the economy stable, saying the central bank should not ‘burn’ its $419bn reserves.

‘I don’t believe you can call it a crisis - you can call it what you like,’ he told a packed conference hall.

If the economic problems persist, he said, the government will have to ‘reduce social spending and future growth’.

But he added, ‘Our economy will get out of this crisis. How long? Maybe two years, but after that, growth is inevitable’.

BDST: 1702 HRS, DEC 18, 2014