BEIJING, September 3. /TASS/. The West is using the Ukraine conflict to address its economic problems in relations with other countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference following his visit to China.

"The events in Ukraine are just a pretext for resolving economic issues with some countries whose economic ties are not to someone’s liking," he stressed.

Putin also noted that the issue of US sanctions against other countries was hardly discussed at the SCO summit. "You know, we hardly discussed this topic. Why? Because, frankly speaking, it doesn’t really concern us," the Russian leader remarked.