Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday snubbed the latest US sanctions as an “unfriendly move” that would not help relations between Moscow and Washington. He asserted that the new restrictions would have minimal impact on Russia’s economy, emphasising, “no self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure.” Putin’s reaction came after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in a bid to put pressure on the Kremlin to end its ongoing war with Ukraine.
Putin Snubs Donald Trump’s Sanctions
According to Russia Today, Putin accused the United States of repeatedly using sanctions as a tool to exert pressure. He stated such tactics would not succeed, while hinting that “certain people in the US administration” had pushed for restrictions on Russian oil exports, questioning in whose interests they truly work for. “They are serious for us, of course, that is clear. And they will have certain consequences, but they will not significantly impact our economic well-being,” Putin stated.
Putin asserted that Moscow and Washington “have many areas in which they could cooperate” if both sides moved away from pressure tactics and engaged in “serious conversations about the long term. He also confirmed that the Russia-US summit scheduled to take place in Budapest, Hungary has been postponed. He said it would have been a “mistake to approach the summit without proper preparations.” However, he added that a meeting could still take place later, noting “Dialogue is always better than confrontation, arguments, and the continuation of war.”
Putin warns over Tomahawk attacks
In his interaction with reporters, Putin also clarified that while Russia seeks dialogue, but if it is attacked with US Tomahawk missiles, which Ukraine seeks, the response would be “very strong, if not overwhelming.”
Trump sanctions two Russian Oil Companies
Announcing the sanctions on Russian oil companies, Trump said, “Today is a very big day. Look, these are tremendous sanctions. These are very big. Those are against their two big oil companies… We hope that the war will be settled. We just answered questions related to the various forms of missiles and everything else we’re examining. However, we don’t think that will be necessary. We would like to see them just take the line that has been formed over quite a long period of time and go home.”
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