Russia will respond to 'insolence' of US sanctions: Vladimir Putin

towards Russia.

"We are behaving in a very restrained and patient way, but at some moment we will need to respond," Putin said at a news conference after talks with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto. He complained that "it's impossible to endlessly tolerate this kind of insolence towards our country," referring to tougher US sanctions that were backed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Nevertheless he did not specify what Russia's response could be, saying simply: "When the response will be and what it will be — that we will see," implying this depended on what action the US finally takes. The Russian strongman slammed the intensifying probe into Russian meddling in the US presidential election, saying it bore witness to "a rise in anti-Russian hysteria" in Washington. He bemoaned the worsening of relations with the US, saying "Of course, we regret it very much."

Putin also argued that "Russian-US relations are being sacrificed to resolve questions of domestic politics," specifying that "in this case, it is the battle between Trump and his political opponents."