Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech at a session of the International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk, Russia March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

ARKHANGELSK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that anti-Russian sanctions were harmful both for the economies of the United States and Europe.

Putin was speaking at an Arctic forum in northern Russia. Western countries sanctioned Russia due to Moscow’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula from Kiev and Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis.