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Russia will not cave in to US sanctions, which are an attempt to strongarm Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
“No self-respecting country does anything under pressure,” Putin stated.
The Russian president also described US President Donald Trump’s latest sanctions against the Kremlin as an “unfriendly act” that would harm Moscow-Washington relations and downplayed their potential impact on Russia’s economy.
The US leadership has not responded positively to Putin’s comments. When asked about the Russian leader’s statement at a news conference on Thursday, Trump replied, “I am glad he feels that way.“
Then, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in tow, the US president said with a smile, “I will let you know about it in six months from now. Let’s see how it works out.”
Putin also warned Washington against selling Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying any deep strikes into Russia with this or any other long-range weapons will be met with “a devastating” response.
“This is an attempt at escalation. But if such weapons are used to strike Russian territory, the response will be very serious, if not overwhelming. Let them think about that,” Putin said.
On Friday, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian authorities are “analysing the sanctions that have been defined and announced, and, of course, we will do what best suits our interests”.
“That’s the main thing in our actions. We are acting primarily not against someone else, we are acting for our own benefit. That’s what we will be doing,” Peskov added.
The US slapped sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies — Lukoil and Rosneft —while the EU simultaneously approved its 19th package of sanctions this week, targeting banks, energy revenues and networks involved in circumventing existing restrictions.
The new measures are aimed at pressuring Moscow into accepting a ceasefire in Ukraine, following the collapse of planned diplomatic talks between the US and Russia.
Putin still wants to meet Trump
Despite Trump publicly announcing that he had cancelled the meeting with Putin, the Russian president denied it, saying it was only postponed.
“We canceled the meeting with President Putin. It just, it didn’t feel right to meet. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it”, Trump said on Wednesday, adding that he doesn’t want a “wasted meeting”.
“Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere.”
Putin said on Thursday that the summit was “postponed” rather than cancelled, adding it would be a mistake to hold it without necessary preparations. The US side proposed the meeting and its location, he claimed.
Putin even reiterated that Moscow remains ready for dialogue, amid Russian authorities and media outlets describing it only as “rescheduling” or “postponing” the Budapest summit and avoiding the term “cancellation”.
According to the US media reports, Putin’s top envoy has arrived in the US for talks with the White House officials.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund (RDIF) and a Kremlin special envoy, is reportedly expected to meet with Trump administration officials to continue discussions on the US-Russia relationship.