Putin Hits Back at US Sanctions, Delays Hungary Summit

By Staff, Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the planned summit between him and the United States President Donald Trump in Hungary is more likely to be postponed, after the US announced a new package of sanctions on Russia.

The US introduced a new set of anti-Russian sanctions that targeted oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, along with their subsidiaries, on Wednesday, while Trump announced the cancellation of the planned meeting with Putin in Budapest, expressing a future intent to meet.

“Now I see the US president decided to postpone the meeting after this statement,” Putin said, adding it would be a mistake to approach the Hungary summit without preparation.

"In the last telephone conversation, both the meeting itself and the venue were proposed by the US side," the Russian president added, noting that Moscow supports dialogue and finds negotiations better than confrontation and sustained war.

Despite this, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said a meeting remains possible. “A meeting between these two leaders [Trump and Putin] is not completely off the table,” she stated.

Furthermore, she stated that the US president hopes that any potential meeting between him and Putin is a "good use of his time" and that Trump wants to see "action, not just talk."

The Russian president said the new sanctions aim to pressure Russia. "They [the sanctions] currently have, of course, two aspects – purely political and economic," he stated, adding that the political aspect is an attempt to exert pressure.

He noted that the new sanctions will not significantly affect the country's economic well-being, emphasizing that no self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure.

Russia's president emphasized, "If we talk about the political part [of the imposed sanctions], then, of course, it is unfriendly towards Russia," adding that it does not strengthen Russian-US relations.

He additionally noted that Trump imposed the largest number of sanctions against Russia during his first term.

While Putin said the new US sanctions will not heavily affect Russia's economy, he added, "I hope that this [sanctions against Russia] will not lead to significant changes in the global market," stressing the need to invest in traditional energy.

The Russian president said cutting Russian oil would raise global prices but insisted the country’s energy sector remains stable.

He further warned, "this will lead to a sharp increase in the cost of oil and petroleum products, including at gas stations," noting the US is no exception and highlighting the sensitivity of the situation given the domestic political calendar.

He noted Russia’s key role in the global energy balance, calling it a "thankless task" to undermine, and contrasted US oil consumption with Russia and Saudi Arabia’s exports.

Putin warned that reports of Ukraine using Storm Shadow missiles are an escalation, saying Moscow’s response will be "very strong, if not staggering."

On the EU’s latest sanctions, Putin joked about the ban on toilet exports, saying, "The fact that they have canceled our toilet purchases will cost them a lot."