WASHINGTON, July 5. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump acknowledged that Russia has been able to cope with the sanctions imposed on it and called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a professional.
"We talk about sanctions a lot," the US leader told reporters, recalling his July 3 telephone conversation with Putin.
"He has been able to manage sanctions," Trump said, referring to his Russian counterpart. "But these are pretty binding sanctions," he added, referring to the possibility of new anti-Russian restrictions in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. "Now we talk about sanctions a lot. He [the Russian president] understands that it may be coming. He is a professional," the US head of state said. "It may be coming," Trump reiterated. In his opinion, the Russian president is "not thrilled" about this possibility.
"I think I'm tougher in Russia than I am on Iran," the US president noted.
On July 3, Putin and Trump held a phone conversation. It was their fourth conversation in a month and a half and their sixth since the beginning of the year. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that the telephone conversation between the Russian and US leaders lasted almost an hour. The two leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, among other issues. Additionally, during the conversation, Putin and Trump discussed the possibility of exchanging films that promote the traditional values shared by Russia and the US presidential administration.