Putin says new U.S. sanctions against Russia are 'an act of rudeness'
Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the U.S. bill on sanctions against Russia, said that “it is impossible to endure rudeness endlessly.”
“As you know, we act with great patience and restraint, but at some point we will have to respond. It is impossible to endure endlessly this rudeness in relation to our country,” Putin said at a press conference following the Russia-Finland talks, reports Interfax.
According to the Russian president, the bill on sanctions is an attempt to use U.S. geopolitical advantages in the competitive struggle.
“These are actions with aggravating circumstances, and I say this with a special cynicism. This is clearly an attempt [by the U.S.] to use its geopolitical advantages in a competitive struggle to ensure its economic interests at the expense of its associates in this case,” Putin said.
The House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress voted on July 25th to introduce new sanctions against Russia. The bill was supported by 419 congressmen, and there were three opposed. It will have to go through several more procedures before going into effect.
The bill includes, as part of U.S. policy, support for the Ukrainian government in the restoration of its territorial integrity. The bill also condemns the destabilizing efforts of the Russian government in Ukraine and expresses the United States’ refusal to recognize the annexation of the Crimea or any part of the territory of Ukraine, which was seized by military force. Congress is ready to assist Ukraine in reforming the country’s energy sector and reducing dependence on Russian energy resources, as well as in countering the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project.
The bill also legally establishes the existing sanctions against Russia, creates a mechanism that makes it mandatory for the U.S. Congress to approve any possible actions of the U.S. president to ease sanctions against Russia, provides for the possibility of imposing sanctions against state-owned Russian companies that carry out operations in the metallurgical and mining industries and in rail transport, strengthens sanctions against the Russian financial sector and Russian energy, provides for the imposing of sanctions in connection with any activities of the Russian government in the area of undermining cyber security, etc. The bill authorizes the President of the United States, in coordination with American allies, to impose sanctions against individuals and legal entities that promote the development and maintenance of Russian export oil and gas pipelines.
The bill provides for the creation of a “Countering Russian Influence Fund” and allocates $250 million to its budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. An additional $30 million is allocated for the implementation of initiatives to support energy security in Ukraine.