MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is not going to ask Western leaders, including US President Donald Trump, to ease anti-Russian sanctions.

"No. I have never asked anyone to do that and will never do so," the Russian leader said. In his view, it is pointless to call for easing sanctions, because the normalization of relations should imply that both sides must be aware of the benefits of that step. "And not because someone asked to do something," Putin pointed out at a plenary session of the Russian Energy Week forum.

Putin expressed hope that the West would realize that there were no grounds whatsoever for anti-Russian sanctions. "After the Mueller report, it became clear that they do not exist. This is not about meddling but about attempts to revive the policy of containing the development of one’s potential rivals, as simple as that," he said.

Putin noted that this policy employed methods that caused harm to the US itself.

"What we see now between the United States and Ukraine is reminiscent, to a certain extent, of recent events related to Russia’s alleged election meddling, but this is already the second edition. Let’s see what all that will result in. It’s none of our business," the Russian leader added.