The Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine violated the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

Putin criticized the sanctions against Russia during a meeting with top officials on Thursday, saying they did not intend to retaliate with matching sanctions against the West. Instead, Russia opted to counter the punishment by boosting its local economy, Zee News detailed.

Like Us on Facebook

"The sanctions introduced against Russia is [sic] nothing else but a denial of the basic principles of the WTO," The Wall Street Journal cited Putin as saying.

In response to the Western sanctions, Putin announced Russia's intention to prioritize its own development and protect the domestic producers from "unfair competition." Russia now aims to fill its domestic market with locally-produced goods to improve its economy, Putin explained.

Moscow's ties with the West went even colder that it was during the Cold War when a conflict broke out in Ukraine after Russia annexed Crimea. This prompted western countries to impose sanctions on Moscow over its military actions in Ukraine.

Russia, in turn, banned food imports from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Norway and the European Union. Despite the ban triggering inflation in Russia, Putin maintains it was not intended to punish the West but to help their local producers.

Putin criticized the West by saying the sanctions went against the WTO's principles on fair and free economic trade.

Russian economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev supported Putin's view by calling for more participation in boosting the local economy. Since international capital markets blocked off Russian firms, they must now rely solely on the domestic market, Ulyukayev said.

Trade sanctions do not need to be justifies at the WTO unless a country challenges them in a trade dispute. Some of the justifications may involve religious, health and environmental reasons, the report explained.

TagsRussia, Western sanctions, Ukraine crisis, WTO