MOSCOW

 Russia's annexing of Crimea was the right thing to do as it served to restore a "historical justice", President Vladimir Putin has said.

Speaking in a two-hour documentary focusing on his 15 years in office and aired on Russia's Rossiya 1 TV channel on Sunday, Putin said the decision to annex the peninsula in March 2014 following a referendum was based on the will of the people.

He said:  "I think we did the right thing. I have no regrets. 

"The most important thing for us was to see if the Crimeans wanted to be with Ukraine or Russia ... not because we wanted to seize something or because of Crimea's strategic importance in the Black Sea."

"We could not leave them if they wanted to return to Russia, and this is what I told our partners at the time," he added.

Referring to Western sanctions imposed on Russia following the annexation, Putin said the move was just "an attempt to hinder Russia's development" and "a policy which we have been familiar with for centuries".

A majority of the Crimean population voted to become part of the Russian Federation in a referendum on the status of Crimea held on March 16, 2014.

The U.S. and EU denounced the referendum as "illegitimate".