Putin made the remarks in a speech on Friday at a global business leaders summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

“We have gathered here for economic discussions, but we cannot erase political discussions,” Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

He criticized the US-engineered sanctions against Russia and warned that they might have a boomerang effect. “In the modern, interconnected world, economic sanctions as an instrument of political pressure can have a boomerang effect, and in the end they have an impact on the businesses and economies of the countries that initiated them.”

“By insisting on the use of sanctions against Russia, I suspect that our American friends — maybe, they are subtle — want to obtain certain advantages in their commercial and economies ties with Europe,” the Russian leader added.

Putin stated that the chaos in Ukraine was the result of a “state coup” against former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych “with support of the West, the United States.”

He defended Russia’s accession of Crimea, arguing that the reintegration was endorsed through a democratic vote.

In an interview with CNBC on Friday, Putin said that Yanukovych is still the legitimate president of Ukraine but that Russia will engage with the winner of Sunday’s election.

“What we want for Ukraine is peace and calm,” he said, adding, “Of course we will cooperate with the newly elected head of state. But just to make it clear, I hope that after the election, all military action will stop and national dialogue will begin.”

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier, in which nearly 97 percent of the participants voted in favor of the move. On March 21, Crimea officially became part of the Russian territory.

On April 17, Russia, Ukraine, the US and the European Union agreed over steps to “de-escalate” the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where anti-Kiev protesters seized buildings in several towns and cities.

But, Ukrainian authorities have ordered military operations against pro-Russian protesters in both eastern and southern Ukraine, claiming that Russian special forces are fueling unrest in the country.

Moscow has dismissed as “nonsense” claims that Russian special forces are fomenting unrest in Ukraine.

A fire at a Trade Unions House in the southwestern port city of Odessa earlier this month led to at least 46 deaths that had been sheltering opponents of the US-backed interim government of Ukraine.

According to reports, members of neo-Nazi Right Sector set the building on fire in Odessa. The victims were burnt alive within the premises and video footage showed bloodied and wounded survivors being attacked by the extremists.

According to a recent report in the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the US Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation are helping the interim authorities in Kiev to end the crisis.

The newspaper, citing unnamed German security sources, reported that dozens of CIA and FBI agents are involved in the offensive against the pro-Russian activists.

Earlier this year, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland disclosed that Washington has “invested” about $5 billion in “promoting democracy” in Ukraine over the past two decades.

In early February, Nuland visited Ukraine and held meetings with anti-Kremlin politicians who organized anti-government protests that led to the ouster of Yanukovych, the country’s democratically-elected president.