Vladimir Putin MOCKS Donald Trump after US publishes Kremlin punishment list
VLADIMIR Putin has poured scorn on Washington’s so-called Kremlin List which features prominent Moscow businessmen and politicians accused of having suspect links to the Russian leader.
Putin claims US hit list has 'complicated' ties between nations
Mr Putin joked he did not appear among the 210 names on the document published by the US Treasury Department and sparked laughter when he added: “What a shame!”
He called on Russians to ignore the list and told them: “A barking dog cannot hinder a caravan’s journey.”
It is believed that those named could face economic sanctions or being “blacklisted” on the global financial markets.
The list was published in retaliation for alleged election meddling by the Kremlin when the US went to the polls in 2016.
A barking dog cannot hinder a caravan’s journey
The Russian President took a more serious tone when he was asked for his reponse to the list.
He said: "I haven’t seen this document yet. Neither the list nor any proposals.
"My colleagues let me know about that in the morning.
“What I have to say on this matter - not on the list but on the matter as a whole - we need to think about ourselves more, address our economic issues, agricultural ones in particular.
“We also need to support our exports, healthcare and education, and boost our defence capabilities.
“Then they will realise that there is no sense in drawing up any lists and trying to hamper our development.
"This is the main thing that we need to remember, because as they say, a barking dog cannot hinder a caravan’s journey.”
Mr Putin said the Kremlin list has harmed international relations in general.
He said: ”The whole presidential staff, the government and all businesses were included in the US Kremlin List.
“Behind each of these persons and organisations there are ordinary citizens of our country, labour staffs and whole industries.
“As a matter of fact all of us were put on some list. I cannot see what the meaning of such actions is.
“Certainly, this is an unfriendly act. It aggravates the already bad condition of Russian-US relations and certainly harms international relations in general.
“As for their fuss over international issues, such as alleged intervention in the US election, it is hopelessly ruining Russian-US relations.
"Just look at the silly things happening these days: Russia is blacklisted alongside North Korea and Iran and then asked to participate in resolving the solution of the North Korean nuclear program and giving thought to what could be done about the Iranian issue. Doesn’t this look silly?"
Mr Putin insisted Moscow was ready for constructive relations with Washington but insisted the US should decide if it wanted to maintain co-operation with Russia.
He said: "What do they want? They should decide for themselves. We know what we want - we want to build long-term and stable relations based on the international law.
"We are not interested in scrapping relations. On the contrary, we want to develop our ties with the United States.
"I am convinced that people in the US and Russia are also interested in this and people in the world will sigh with relief when they see that the two largest nuclear powers are building ties in a contemporary manner with mutual respect."