Russian President Vladimir Putin hit back at western sanctions by vowing to deepen Russia's trade ties with allies, including China, a big oil and natural gas customer since the invasion of Ukraine."Let me remind you that by introducing sanctions, Western countries were trying to push Russia to the periphery of world development.Already, the limitations have caused Russian crude exports to nosedive – spelling trouble for the nation's economy, as crude oil is one of Moscow's biggest money-makers.90% of its supplies have been redirected to Asia, but at even steeper discounts, with oil regularly being sold below the level of the price cap, traders familiar with the matter told Reuters."Despite the objective difficulties of the current year, we will achieve positive results in reducing poverty, and next year we need to reinforce this positive dynamic," Putin said."