President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday that Russia would rapidly recover from its financial crisis and said his grip on power was firm, even as new Western sanctions and a run on the ruble pile on the pressure.

The Russian strongman, who is locked in a confrontation with the West, showed no willingness to change tack on Ukraine and dismissed the possibility of the country's elite turning against him.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his French, German and Ukrainian counterparts agreed in a phonecall early Wednesday that they wanted talks between Kiev, Moscow and rebels controlling parts of eastern Ukraine to resume as soon as possible.

The telephone conversation came after the White House confirmed that U.S. President Barack Obama will sign into law fresh sanctions against Russia.

President Petro Poroshenko on Friday said a "real" ceasefire was in place in Ukraine after the first 24 hours in seven months without a military casualty, although he admitted the truce was fragile.

"I have positive news. Today is the first 24 hours for seven months... when we have a real ceasefire in Ukraine," he said in a speech during a trip to Australia.

The leader of Crimea on Thursday visited India as part of a delegation led by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was seeking investors to help develop the peninsula annexed by Russia.

Moscow seized Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula in March, sending East-West relations to post Cold War lows and leading U.S. and Europe to impose sanctions on Russia.

Russia will build 10 more nuclear reactors in energy-starved India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday, after talks with President Vladimir Putin aimed at shoring up ties between the long-time allies.

Putin is in New Delhi seeking to strengthen energy, defense and strategic ties in Asia in an attempt to revive Russia's economy, badly hit by U.S. and EU sanctions over its backing of an uprising in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will seek to "recharge" ties when he visits India Wednesday for a one-day summit, promising deals on natural gas and new nuclear power units for the energy-starved country.

India -- the world's third largest oil importer behind the United States and China -- has been buying oil mainly from the Middle East but the region's volatility has prompted the government to consider other options.

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday became the first European leader to travel to Russia in an attempt to defuse the standoff with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, as Kiev announced a fresh round of peace talks next week.

Hollande's meeting with Putin in the diplomatic terminal of an airport outside the capital came as the conflict in eastern Ukraine has plunged relations between the West and Moscow to a post-Cold War low.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the West of exploiting the Ukraine crisis to undermine an increasingly confident Russia, and said Crimea was "sacred" to Moscow.

In his annual state-of-the-nation address, Putin said Russia was justified in its stance on Ukraine but that Moscow would not sever ties with the West despite confrontation with Brussels and Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the central bank and government on Thursday to take 'tough action' to stop speculation on the ruble after the currency hit new all-time lows this week.

"I ask the Bank of Russia and the government to carry out tough coordinated actions to discourage the so-called speculators from trading on the fluctuations of the Russian currency," he said during his annual state of the nation speech in Moscow.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Russia Thursday not to isolate itself "through its own actions" as top diplomats grappled with elusive peace efforts in Ukraine but Moscow lashed out at biting sanctions.

President Vladimir Putin accused the West of using the Ukraine conflict as a pretext to restrain a muscular Russia with sanctions and defiantly declared that Moscow would overcome the blow to an economy on the brink of recession.