'US is our enemy': Putin, Medvedev slam Trump after new US sanctions, vow Russia will 'never bow to pressure'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'US is our enemy': Putin, Medvedev slam Trump after new US sanctions, vow Russia will 'never bow to pressure'")
Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Inset: Donald Trump Photograph: (Combination created using images from AFP)
Russia hit back hard at Washington after new US sanctions targeted its top oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil. Vladimir Putin warned Donald Trump that Moscow “will never bow to US pressure,” while Dmitry Medvedev declared, “The US is our enemy.” All you need to know.
Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday (Oct 23) labelled the United States "enemy" even as the current President Vladimir Putin warned his American counterpart Donald Trump that Moscow would never bow down to US pressure. The strong statements come as the US on Wednesday (Oct 22) imposed sanctions against the two biggest Russian oil companies, citing Putin's "refusal to end this senseless war" in Ukraine. The sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil also target nearly three dozen of their subsidiaries, which led to an almost immediate five per cent jump in oil prices.
Russia takes a strong stance against the US
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday remained defiant and vowed that Moscow would never bow to US pressure, even as he admitted that Washington’s new sanctions could cause “some losses” to Russia’s economy.
Slamming the latest US sanctions that aim to choke off the Kremlin’s energy revenues and force it to negotiate over the war in Ukraine, Putin said that it was an "unfriendly act that does nothing to strengthen Russian-American relations". He insisted that the "attempt to put pressure on Russia" was futile, adding, "No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure".
Conceding that "some losses are expected" from the measures. Putin suggested that Trump should take a hard look at "who his administration is really working for" when advisers urge him to impose sanctions on Russian oil.
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Putin warns Trump
The new sanctions—the first against Moscow since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January—immediately pushed global oil prices up 5 per cent. The EU also agreed on a phased ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports.
Putin warned that the move would backfire by raising global prices. He also cautioned that Russia's response would be “very strong, if not overwhelming,” if attacked with US-made Tomahawk missiles, which Ukraine has been lobbying Washington to supply.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on social media called the US measures an "act of war", accusing Washington of abandoning diplomacy. "The US is our enemy," Medvedev wrote. "Its talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on a path of war against Russia."
Putin, however, struck a more measured tone, saying he remained open to dialogue with Trump. "Dialogue is always better than war," he said, adding that the planned Budapest summit between the two leaders would likely be postponed.
India, China cut down on Russian oil purchases?
According to AFP, there were early signs that Russia's two biggest buyers—China and India—were reacting to the sanctions. Reliance Industries, India’s largest importer of Russian oil, said it was "recalibrating" purchases to align with government guidance. Sources also told Reuters that Chinese state-owned firms had suspended seaborne Russian crude imports, at least temporarily, to avoid violating US restrictions. Losing its two biggest customers would deal a severe blow to the Kremlin, with oil and gas making up about a fifth of Russia’s GDP.
