Commenting on the US’s latest sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that they will not have much of an impact on its economy and calling them an attempt to put pressure on Moscow. Addressing the media yesterday, Mr Putin said, no self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure. He said, the sanctions are serious for Russia and they will have certain consequences, but they will not significantly impact the country’s economic well-being. He added that the sanctions were an unfriendly act that does not strengthen Russia-US relations, which have only just begun to recover.

 

 

The Russian leader said that, in a conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump, he had warned that the sanctions would impact global oil prices, including in the US. US on Wednesday hit Russia’s two biggest oil producers — Rosneft and Lukoil — with sanctions, the first against Russia since US President Trump returned to office.