article_snippet: It wasn't us who committed a coup, it was the nationalists and people with extreme beliefs.
article_snippet: I don't think this was actually anyone's wish -- to turn this into a world conflict.
article_snippet: Russia called Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych ouster a coup by radical Ukrainian nationalists.
article_snippet: The West responded with financial sanctions against selected Russian figures and Crimean secessionist leaders.
article_snippet: Putin told the documentary-makers Putin was certain the United States was behind the ouster of Yanukovych, which Moscow views as an illegal armed coup.
article_snippet: Formally, the opposition was primarily supported by Europeans, but we knew very well ... that the real puppeteers were we American partners and friends.
article_snippet: It was the real puppeteers were our American partners and friends who helped prepare nationalists (and) combat troops," Putin said.
article_snippet: Putin also said that sanctions should have been imposed against those who orchestrated what Putin called a coup, rather than those involved in Crimea's annexation.