Obama says Russia's economic crisis proves Putin 'not so smart' to annex Crimea

Barack ObamaLondon, Dec 30 : US President Barack Obama has said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "not so smart" move to annex Crimea is a "strategic mistake".

According to the BBC, Obama said that those thinking his Russian counterpart was a "genius" had been proven wrong by Russia's economic crisis.

Obama said that international sanctions against Russia had made the country's economy susceptible to changes in oil price.

Earlier, in a meeting with business leaders at the White House, Obama said that Putin "does not have good cards" and that he has not played them as good as the western media sometimes gives him credit for.

The revolution against the Moscow-backed government in Kiev has been working well for Putin politically and domestically but ruining Russia's economy for both short as well as long term, said the US President.

The US and the European Union have imposed a series of economic sanctions against Russia and have offered economic aid to support the newly elected government in Ukraine in its fight against pro-Russian separatists. (ANI)