Russia won’t be blackmailed, Putin says

Putin made the comments during an interview with the Serbian daily Politika on Wednesday, ahead of a brief visit to the Serbian capital Belgrade scheduled for Thursday. 
 
“How can we talk about de-escalation in Ukraine while the decisions on new sanctions are introduced almost simultaneously with the agreements on the peace process?” Reuters quoted him as saying.
 
    “We hope that our partners will realize the futility of attempts to blackmail Russia and remember what consequences discord between major nuclear powers could bring for strategic stability,” he added.
 
The Russian president went on to say that Russia is ready to develop constructive cooperation based on the principles of equality and genuine consideration of mutual interests.
 
Putin is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the Italian city of Milan on Friday.
 
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said resetting relations with the United States is “impossible” while Western sanctions remain in force, slamming the punitive measures as “destructive” and “stupid”.
 
Tensions between Russia and the West heightened after Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea joined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March.
 
Relations were strained further after Ukraine launched military operations in mid-April to silence pro-Russia protests in the country’s mainly Russian speaking regions in eastern Ukraine.
 
The US and the European Union accuse Russia of destabilizing Ukraine and have slapped a number of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russia figures. Moscow, however, rejects the accusation.