his is the first time Trump has put Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia during his second term.
United States President Donald Trump sought to dismiss Russia’s reaction on the US energy sanctions announced on Wednesday and said that the impact of those sanctions remains to be seen in upcoming few months.
When asked by a reporter in White House on Thursday about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reaction to the US sanctions that they won’t cause any major harm to the country’s economy, Trump said, “I am glad he feels that way. I’ll let you know about it in six months from now. Let’s see how it all works out…”
Responding to Trump’s fresh sanctions, the Russian president stated that Moscow will ‘never bow down’ to US pressure.
The Russian leader on Thursday described the sanctions as an “unfriendly act that does nothing to strengthen Russian-American relations” and a futile “attempt to put pressure on Russia”.
“No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” Putin added while speaking to Russian journalists.
Putin further claimed that the sanctions will not significantly affect the Russian economy.
Furthermore, the Russian leader also warned Trump of a “strong response” if Ukraine were to use US Tomahawks against Russia amid the ongoing war
US announces fresh sanctions against Russia
The United States President announced sanctions on two of the biggest Russian oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil — on Wednesday in a bid to pressurise Russia into stopping the war in Ukraine. Global oil prices went up by 5% after Trump’s move, reported news agency Reuters.
This is the first time Trump has put Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia during his second term.
While reacting to the US sanctions, Putin also said that it was “an attempt to put pressure on Russia.””
“But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decides anything under pressure,” he added.
Earlier, Trump was hoping to get Putin to stop the war in Ukraine through dialogue and both the leaders were set to meet in Budapest. However, the meeting was later cancelled by the United States. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin — it just didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future,” Trump said in the White House on Wednesday.
India to slash Russian oil imports?
The US President, on several occasions, has also claimed that India is going to slash its oil purchase from Russia. While there has been no official confirmation on this, several Indian and Chinese refiners may be forced to do so. That is because under the US sanctions, both the Russian oil companies will largely be cut off from the global monetary exchange underpinned by the American dollar and the payments for oil consignments are mainly made in US dollars, reported Hindustan Times earlier.
Several Indian refiners are reviewing their Russian oil purchase and are awaiting government guidance on how to move ahead.
