Obama: Putin has foot ‘in the Soviet past’

President Obama blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin as a relic of the “Soviet past” in an interview with Buzzfeed published Tuesday.

“He has a foot very much in the Soviet past. That’s how he came of age. He ran the KGB. Those were his formative experiences,” said Obama.

{mosads}“So, I think he looks at problems through this Cold War lens and, as a consequence, I think he’s missed some opportunities for Russia to diversify its economy, to strengthen its relationship with its neighbors, to represent something different than the old Soviet-style aggression.”

The president, though, said he still had hopes of a diplomatic solution over Ukraine, where Putin is backing pro-Russian separatists fighting Kiev.

“I continue to hold out the prospect of Russia taking a diplomatic offering from what they’ve done in Ukraine,” he said. “I think, to their credit, they’ve been able to compartmentalize and continue to work with us on issues like Iran’s nuclear program.”

The U.S. and European Union have hit Russia with tough sanctions, but have been unable to end Moscow’s support for the separatists.

On Tuesday, Obama called Putin to warn him that there would be further costs to his actions. Russian, Ukrainian and European negotiators are slated to meet later this week even as violence between the separatists and Ukraine’s military intensifies.

The president is also facing increasing pressure on Capitol Hill from lawmakers who want to arm Ukraine with lethal weapons.

In the interview, Obama also expressed concern over the damage from sanctions.

“That’s bad for Russia and, over time, it’s bad for the United States because if Russia is doing badly, the concern is that they revert to old expansionist ideas that really shouldn’t have any application in the 21st century,” said Obama.