April 20 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that "illegal" restrictions on Russian companies by Western states ran counter to World Trade Organization rules and told his government to update Russia's strategy in the WTO by June 1.

Speaking at a government meeting on the country's metals industry, Putin said that Western countries had banned Russia from buying components needed to produce rolled metal, steel sheets and other products.

"These measures (sanctions) run counter to WTO principles, to which European colleagues have constantly reiterated their adherence", Putin said.

Earlier on Wednesday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian metals companies were facing "hostile attitudes" from what Moscow calls unfriendly countries, and that Russia would come up with a plan to combat this.

Russia's economy has been battered by Western sanctions designed to force Moscow to withdraw troops it sent into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Subscribe to our sustainability newsletter to make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments.

Subscribe to our newsletter to get all the news you need to start your day.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.

The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.

The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.

Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.

Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.

Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.

All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.