Putin accuses 'quasi-partners' of counting on Russia collapse

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a signing ceremony on the results of Russian-Argentinian talks at the Kremlin in Moscow April 23, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin accused some of Russia's "quasi-partners" on Monday of counting on the country's collapse by cutting its banks off from the global financial system at a time when oil prices had plunged.

Speaking in Russia's second city of St Petersburg, Putin said they had been proved wrong and the economy had easily weathered the crisis, deepened by Western sanctions imposed to punish Moscow over its policies in Ukraine.