Putin Shows Responsible Approach to US-Russian Ties Not Responding to Sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin proved that he cared about long-term strategic relations with the United States by not taking countermeasures on the recent US sanctions, chief of the Russian parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Putin demonstrated a responsible approach to the global politics, as "Russian-US relations should serve global interests," the senior official added.

"The Russian president clearly showed that regardless of the established and usually undisputed diplomatic traditions, he acts in accordance with long-term and strategic nature of bilateral relations, with no room for momentary political situation and narrow-minded political thinking," Kosachev told RIA Novosti.

Kosachev expressed hope that this non-standard, powerful and constructive signal would be correctly understood by the US President-elect Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Obama announced sanctions against six Russian individuals and five entities and expelled 35 diplomats over Moscow's alleged interference in the 2016 election and claims of harassment against US diplomats in Russia, which the Kremlin has denied.

Earlier on Friday, Putin said Russia would not expel anyone in retaliation for the new US sanctions.