The Russian President, Vladimir Putin has declared that he will not be sending any congratulatory messages to his United States counterpart Joe Biden on Independence Day this year due to the country’s “unfriendly” policy towards Russia and the amount of sanctions which they have slammed on them for their conflict with Ukraine.
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made this announcement on Monday.
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This year, the congratulatory telegram will not be sent,” Peskov said on a call with journalists.
“This has to do with the fact that this year marked the culmination of an unfriendly policy towards our country by the United States,” Peskov added, saying that “it can hardly be considered appropriate” to send congratulations in these conditions.
Putin and Biden had not spoken since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Peskov confirmed during a conference call last Thursday, CNN reports.
Vladimir Putin has also boasted to the United States while reiterating that the numerous Western sanctions have only helped to push his country and its ally Belarus toward “speeding up integration. ”
Putin had further stated that the Russian integration with Belarus will come in various sectors, which, according to him, would further help to “minimize the damage” of the sanctions.
“Russia and Belarus have continued to grow in their cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres,” Putin said in a video message to the participants of an annual Russia-Belarus forum on Friday
“The unprecedented pressure of sanctions from the so-called collective West is pushing us towards speeding up integration.
“Together it is easier to minimize the damage from the illegal sanctions, it is easier to set up the production of demanded products, develop new competencies and expand cooperation with friendly countries,” Putin said.
Belarus has been known to be a staunch Russian ally and it has also helped to facilitate Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, with some Russian forces entering the country through the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.