It comes amid a growing economic crisis in Russia. Putin said the Russian economy will rebound and the ruble will stabilize. He added that the current crisis could last two years at most, but the economy could recover faster if external factors change for the better.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the annual news conference in Moscow, capital of Russia, Dec. 18, 2014. [Xinhua]

"First of all, the international economy will continue to grow and our economy will emerge from the current situation. How long will this take? In the worst possible scenario it will take around two years. I repeat though, after this, growth is inevitable. This is because the external economic factors will change - the growth of the international economy will require further energetic resources," Putin says.

Putin said the government and the Central Bank are generally working correctly to deal with the current economic problems, but he said some of their actions came too late. Speaking about the recent fall in global oil prices, Putin said low oil prices will encourage Russia to diversify its economy and ease its dependence on oil and gas exports. He added that the nation's currency reserves, which currently stand at 419 billion dollars, are sufficient to keep the economy in a stable position.

After sharply dropping for two days, the ruble rebounded 11 percent against the US dollar on Wednesday, the biggest rise since 1998. But the currency has fallen 50 percent so far this year, reflecting structural risks in Russia's economy. The latest crash came as traders showed concerns over the combined impact of low oil prices and Western sanctions over Russia's involvement in Ukraine.

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