Russia Vows to Decisively Act Against U.S. Sanctions
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- The Kremlin told Washington on Wednesday it would act decisively if the United States undertook any new "unfriendly steps” such as imposing sanctions, the RIA news agency reported, citing a foreign ministry source.
It said the comments were made by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov who invited the U.S. ambassador in Moscow to talks following a phone call on Tuesday between Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden, RIA
Russia also said it was too early to talk tangibly about Biden’s proposal to meet Putin.
Biden, in the phone call on Tuesday, proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of disputes and told Moscow to reduce tensions over Ukraine.
Moscow’s U.S. ties slumped to a new post-Cold War low last month after Biden said he thought Putin was a "killer” and Moscow recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations. The envoy has still not returned almost a month later.
"It’s still too early to talk about this meeting in tangible terms. It’s a new proposal and it will be studied,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that it would be discussed further through diplomatic channels.
"The sides are not yet planning a range of topics to discuss, there isn’t yet any preparation for this meeting,” he said.
Russia has been preparing to be hit by new sanctions since Biden said last month that Putin would pay a price for alleged Russian meddling in the November 2020 U.S. presidential election. Moscow denies interfering.
The threat of sanctions put pressure on the rouble for weeks, though new punitive measures have so far not been imposed.
The rouble rose sharply late on Tuesday after the Biden-Putin call.
It said the comments were made by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov who invited the U.S. ambassador in Moscow to talks following a phone call on Tuesday between Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden, RIA
Russia also said it was too early to talk tangibly about Biden’s proposal to meet Putin.
Biden, in the phone call on Tuesday, proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of disputes and told Moscow to reduce tensions over Ukraine.
Moscow’s U.S. ties slumped to a new post-Cold War low last month after Biden said he thought Putin was a "killer” and Moscow recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations. The envoy has still not returned almost a month later.
"It’s still too early to talk about this meeting in tangible terms. It’s a new proposal and it will be studied,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that it would be discussed further through diplomatic channels.
"The sides are not yet planning a range of topics to discuss, there isn’t yet any preparation for this meeting,” he said.
Russia has been preparing to be hit by new sanctions since Biden said last month that Putin would pay a price for alleged Russian meddling in the November 2020 U.S. presidential election. Moscow denies interfering.
The threat of sanctions put pressure on the rouble for weeks, though new punitive measures have so far not been imposed.
The rouble rose sharply late on Tuesday after the Biden-Putin call.