Putin Says U.S. Sanctions Aim To 'Restrain Russia'

President Vladimir Putin said that a U.S. Senate move to increase sanctions against Moscow came "out of the blue" and were meant to "restrain Russia." On June 14, the U.S. Senate approved further sanctions over alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election. The measure also would prevent President Donald Trump from unilaterally easing existing sanctions imposed since 2014 over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and meddling in Ukraine. During his annual question-and-answer session with Russian citizens on June 15, Putin said Russia would remove its counter-sanctions on goods from other countries if they removed their sanctions imposed on Moscow. (Reuters)