YALTA, Crimea — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday his country would stand up for itself but not at the cost of confrontation with the outside world, a conciliatory note after months of tough rhetoric over the crisis in Ukraine.

Putin was speaking to Russian ministers and members of parliament in Crimea, the Ukrainian region annexed by Russian this year — a stage that led many people to anticipate a major announcement about Ukraine.

But the tone of Putin's comments was low-key and he avoided the kind of barbs that he has previously directed at Western countries during the crisis, which has dragged East-West relations to their lowest ebb since the Cold War.

"We must calmly, with dignity and effectively, build up our country, not fence it off from the outside world," Putin said. "We need to consolidate and mobilize but not for war or any kind of confrontation ... for hard work in the name of Russia."

He also said Russia would do everything in its power to end the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible and stop the bloodshed there.

Explaining his thoughts on Thursday about Russia's foreign policy doctrine, he said it should be peace-loving.

"All our partners in the world should understand that Russia, like any other large, powerful sovereign state, has various ways and means of ensuring its national interests, and these include armed forces," he said.

"But this is not a panacea and we do not intend, like some people, to dash around the world with a razor blade and wave that blade around. But everyone should understand that we also have such things in our arsenal."

Many of Putin's critics in Western capitals say he has made dovish comments before, but that this has not been matched by actions on the ground.

European countries and the United States allege that Russia is supplying arms to separatists in eastern Ukraine. They have also said a Russian aid convoy headed to Ukraine could be a cover for a military attack.

Moscow has denied those allegations. It says it is only interested in protecting the largely Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine which it says is being targeted by Ukrainian military forces.

The standoff over Ukraine is now becoming much more costly for both sides, with the EU and United States imposing economic sanctions, and Russia retaliating by banning imports of many food products.