MOSCOW, Jan 14 — Russia will not cut itself off from the world because any return to the past would be a “monstrous mistake”, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said today.

Medvedev, whose country has been hit by Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis that have aggravated an economic crisis, told a conference the central bank had all the instruments it needed to secure the stability of the rouble.

He said the central bank would not “eat up” Russia’s foreign exchange reserves and ruled out capital controls. He said Russia did not want Ukraine to default but Kiev should pay its debts. — Reuters