Putin insists rouble will stabilise amid Russian economic crisis

President Vladimir Putin has insisted Russia's under-fire currency, the rouble, will stabilise, but warned the economic crisis could last two years.

He is currently holding his annual end-of-year news conference.

Mr Putin blamed "outside factors" for the falling rouble but admitted the central bank could have acted sooner.

He also accepted Russia had failed to diversify its economy, which has been hit by falling oil prices and sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

''Goods have clearly been flying off the

Russian rouble falls to new low on sanctions threat

The Russian rouble fell to a record low against the dollar as investors fear further sanctions against the nation.

The rouble fell to 37.03 per dollar on Friday, its worst valuation since the currency was restructured in 1998.

The tumble comes weeks after Russia's central bank pledged to intervene less in the currency's valuation.

It also follows peace talks in Minsk between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk.

The market may have found the talks "disappointing" and renewed its concern over sanctions, said Manik Narain, emerging market strategist at UBS.

A recent weak economic performance and the conflict with Ukraine have combined with