Putin ally Timchenko says business will not turn on him over sanctions

MOSCOW (Reuters) - An ally of Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia's business elite would not put pressure him to change tack on Ukraine due to Western sanctions which would only strengthen support for the president's policies.

Gennady Timchenko, who is under U.S. sanctions, told Itar-Tass news agency the West had miscalculated when it designed punitive measures it hoped would put pressure on Putin's inner circle and change Russia's course in Ukraine.