MINSK (REUTERS) - President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia saw no need for counter sanctions against the West, but could reconsider the participation of Western companies in its economy, including energy projects, if sanctions continued.

"We would very much wish not to resort to any measures in response," he told reporters after meeting leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan. "But if something like that continues, we will of course have to think about who is working in the key sectors of the Russian economy, including the energy sector, and how."

The United States on Monday announced a new round of sanctions aimed at business leaders and companies close to Putin, while the European Union followed up on Tuesday by naming 15 Russians and Ukrainians to its blacklist, moving to freeze assets and deny visas.