As Russian President Vladimir Putin told an international audience Friday in St. Petersburg that Russia wants to improve its ties with Europe and the United States, the U.S. and European Union renewed a raft of economic sanctions on Moscow for another year.
At Russia’s annual St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin said the sanctions — enacted after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 — are damaging to Russian-European relations. He said Russia is willing to improve business ties with Europe, but said Europe must meet it halfway.
Russia’s economy is suffering from a years-long slump, hit first by the worldwide economic downturn …read more
Source: Voice of America
