Putin Slams New US Anti-Russia Sanctions

New US sanctions against Russia, if implemented, will not push the latter into a deadlock, but will harm relations between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. "We will probably have to adjust certain things, take additional measures and give extra attention to something, but this will not lead to a deadlock and a collapse," Putin was cited by Russia's Tass News Agency as saying in an interview with the Saturday News TV program, Xinhua reported.

"But this will certainly complicate Russia-US relations. I think this is harmful," he added. On Wednesday, the US Senate overwhelmingly passed a new anti-Russia sanction bill by a 97-2 vote, which was so far one of the strongest US responses to alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

Putin also said that it is too early to talk about countermeasures by the Russian side in response to the new US sanctions. "We need to see how all this proceeds. Therefore, it is premature now to publicly speak of our response measures," he said. The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Moscow seeks to avoid a new sanction standoff with the West and that it takes a negative view on the US action.