Putin repeats that Russia will consider sending weapons to the West's adversaries

He also stressed that Moscow is not currently doing this.

“If they are supplying (weapons) to the combat zone and calling for these weapons to be used against our territory, why don’t we have the right to do the same?” Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “But I’m also not ready to say we’ll do it tomorrow.”

Earlier, Putin said Russia's economy was growing despite heavy international sanctions and that the country had expanded economic ties with countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as it sought to woo investors at the forum. The event has been used by Russia for decades as a showcase to tout the country's development, although Western officials and investors have avoided the session since sanctions halted much of Russia's trade with the Western Europe, the United States and their allies.

Speaking to the presidents of Bolivia and Zimbabwe and business leaders, Putin said Russia “remains one of the main players in global trade” despite the country being under tough sanctions for sending troops to Ukraine.

The main driver of Russia's economic growth is the fighting in Ukraine – now as important to the Kremlin economically as it is politically.

Russians are discovering a few imported staples and most global brands have disappeared – or been reincarnated as Russian equivalents. But the rest hasn't changed much economically for most people, with massive state spending on military equipment and large sums paid to volunteer soldiers providing a big boost to the economy.

Putin has heavily controlled his media appearances since sending his forces to Ukraine, but he fielded questions Wednesday from international journalists, including some from Western countries he has criticized, on the sidelines of the forum.

At that meeting, Putin warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their weapons to attack Russian territory. He also reiterated that Moscow was ready to resort to nuclear weapons if it saw a threat to its sovereignty.

Last year, journalists from countries that Russia considers hostile – including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union – were not invited to the forum.