Putin: Russia’s goal not to lift sanctions, West to decide on them

MOSCOW, Nov 23 (PRIME) -- Russia has no goal of lifting the sanctions, it is up to the West to decide, while Moscow stands for normal relations with Europe as restrictions hurt everyone, President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Wednesday.

“We’ve set no goal to lift the restrictions, we did not introduce them and it is not for us to decide. It is for the U.S. and our Western partners to decide,” he said.

“We are also standing for normal relations, we have always said that…as any restrictions in the sphere of economic cooperation are harmful for everyone.”

In 2014, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated to their worse since the Cold War due to a military conflict in Ukraine. The West introduced sanctions against some Russian individuals and firms and further against the energy and banking sectors. In response, Russia limited food imports from some countries, including the U.S., the E.U., Canada, Australia, and Norway.

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