Putin urges Europeans to have 'common sense' over sanctions threat

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the EU on Monday to show "common sense" and not to engage in mutually destructive sanctions, in his first reaction to the threat of additional punitive measures over Ukraine.

"I hope that common sense will prevail, ... that we will work together normally and that we and our partners will not cause harm by poking at one another," Putin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies during a visit to the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk.