Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia's actions against Ukraine are necessary for the country's survival.
"Crimea is of huge and sacred importance to Russia, just like the Temple Mountain is to those who follow Judaism," he said.
Speaking during his annual state-of-the-nation address at the Grand Kremlin palace, Putin defended Russia's March takeover of Crimea and accused the U.S. of using the Ukrainian crisis as justification to impose economic sanctions on Russia, reported Al Jazeera.
"The deterrence policy was not invented yesterday," Putin said. "It has been always conducted toward our country, for decades, if not centuries.
"Every time somebody considers Russia is becoming too powerful and independent, such instruments are turned on immediately."
Russia has been accused of providing weapons and manpower to pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, but it has adamantly denied involvement. More than 4,300 people have died so far in the conflict.
As a result of Russia's perceived involvement, the U.S. and European Union have targeted the country with economic sanctions on its finance, defense and energy departments. A number of Russian and Ukrainian individuals have also been targeted by the sanctions.
Despite the strained relations between the West and Russia, Putin said the country will not, under no circumstances, scale back its ties.
"Under no circumstances are we going to scale back our ties with Europe, US, at the same time we will revive and expand traditional ties with the south of the American continent, will continue cooperation with Africa, with countries in the Middle East," Putin said.
On Wednesday, U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 758, with a vote 411-10, strongly condemning Russia for "the continuing political, economic, and military aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova and the continuing violation of their sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity."
Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich called the measure a ";Declaration of Cold War' against Russia, reciting a host of grievances, old and new, against Russia which represent complaints that Russia could well make against the US, given our nation's most recent military actions: Violating territorial integrity, violations of international law, violations of nuclear arms agreements."
"NATO encirclement, the U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine, an attempt to use an agreement with the European Union to bring NATO into Ukraine at the Russian border, a U.S. nuclear first-strike policy, are all policies which attempt to substitute force for diplomacy," wrote Kucinich.
