MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. It is too early to say that the United States has shown goodwill by delaying new sanctions on Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"It seems too early to judge about it and draw conclusions as to who has shown what under the current state of bilateral relations," he said. When asked if Washington’s decision had come as a surprise for Moscow, Peskov said that "it’s been a long time since anything surprised the Kremlin."
"From our standpoint, the only legal sanctions are those introduced by the United Nations Security Council," the Russian presidential spokesman pointed out. According to him, in the 20th century, sanctions were imposed 174 times with the United States using this tool 110 times. "Unfortunately, this is a usual foreign policy practice for the US, which we cannot accept for we believe it to be illegal," Peskov added.
On Monday, The Washington Post wrote citing administration officials that US President Donald Trump "put the brakes on a preliminary plan to impose additional economic sanctions on Russia, walking back a Sunday announcement by US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley."
"Administration officials said the economic sanctions were under serious consideration, along with other measures that could be taken against Russia, but said Trump had not given final authorization to implement them. Administration officials said Monday it was unlikely Trump would approve any additional sanctions without another triggering event by Russia, describing the strategy as being in a holding pattern," The Washington Post wrote.