MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin tried to play down Russia’s dire economic straits in his annual news conference on Thursday, attributing the troubles to declining oil prices that, following a short period of economic turbulence, were bound to recover along with global demand.

“We are going through a trying period, difficult times at the moment,” Mr. Putin said at the three-hour get together with 1,200 reporters from Russia and around the world. “I would not call the situation a crisis. You may call it whatever you want.”   Read more