‘Presidents Don’t Meet Just For The Sake Of Meeting’: Kremlin After Trump Says No To Putin Talks

After US President Donald Trump cancelled his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin on Sunday said it was wrong to talk about the cancellation of the meeting while calling the sanctions on Russian oil companies as “an unfriendly step”.

“Presidents cannot meet for the sake of meeting, they cannot just waste their time, and they are open about that. That’s why they instructed (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei) Lavrov and (US Secretary of State Marco) Rubio to prepare this process. The process is complicated,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin.

Speaking on the sanctions imposed by the US on two major Russian oil companies, Peskov slammed the decision and said that Russia seeks

to build friendly relations with all countries, including the US.

“Despite the various nuances voiced by the President of the United States, we must still be oriented towards our interests. Our interests are to build good relations with all countries, including the United States,” he said.

“Of course, the actions that were taken this week were an unfriendly step. They have indeed damaged the prospects for resuscitating our relations. But that does not mean that we should abandon these aspirations. We should do what is favourable to us,” he pointed out.

Last week, President Trump slapped major sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies after concluding that Vladimir Putin was not being “honest and forthright” in Ukraine talks.

According to a statement by the Treasury Department, the sanctions have been imposed on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil).

These sanctions has triggered a spike in global oil prices and prompting major buyers of Russian crude to seek alternatives.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has drawn up a new set of sanctions targeting key sectors of Russia’s economy, ready to deploy if Vladimir Putin continues to delay ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing officials in the know.

According to Reuters, the new sanctions under consideration could extend to Russia’s banking system and the infrastructure used to export oil. Ukrainian officials have reportedly pitched Washington on even tougher measures, including cutting off all Russian banks from the dollar-based system, though it remains unclear how seriously those proposals are being considered.