Putin: Ruble Collapse Provoked By 'External Factors'

REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses the Federal Assembly in Moscow, December 4, 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is giving a huge press conference that's likely to last several hours, speaking about his country's economy and the collapse of the ruble.

Putin is also expected to address Russia's conflicts with the West.

The ruble weakened against the dollar ahead of the press conference.

"The current situation has been provoked by external factors," he said, according to a translation. 

He said the central bank and government are taking adequate measures to deal with the crisis and that they're moving in the right direction.

He also insisted that "growth is inevitable" and that Russia could dig itself out of the current crisis in two years at most.

Putin earlier cited 2014 GDP growth of 0.6%.

He shied away from calling the ruble collapse a "crisis."

"I don't think I can call the situation a 'crisis,' you can call it whatever you want," he said, adding that the central bank and government are taking the correct approach.

Despite the country's economic troubles, Russians still widely support Putin. His approval rating hit record highs this year, with 80% of Russians saying they support him.

Watch the press conference live >

This post will be continually updated as Putin speaks.