By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said talks on the potential supply of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine by the US are an “attempt at escalation.”
“This is an attempt at escalation, but if all strikes on Russian territory are carried out with such weapons, the response will be very strong, if not overwhelming,” Putin told reporters in the Kremlin after taking part in the plenary session of the 17th Congress of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) in Moscow.
Putin commented on the latest Western sanctions on Moscow, describing the steps taken as an "attempt to exert pressure."
"But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decides anything under pressure," he said.
Earlier Thursday, the EU passed its 19th and latest package of sanctions on Moscow. The US Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it imposed new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Putin argued that the sanctions may have certain consequences, but will not have a significant effect on the Russian economy's well-being, noting that US President Donald Trump imposed the "largest number of sanctions ever imposed" against Russia during his first term in the White House.
Defining the latest round of US sanctions as an “unfriendly act," Putin said they do not strengthen Moscow-Washington ties, which he argued were only just beginning to recover.
Putin said Russia and the US have "many areas for joint work" if they move toward discussions on the long-term future, including in the economic sphere.
"We are generally prepared for this, but as we see it, this depends not only on the Russian Federation but also on our partners," he added.