Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia’s response to any potential Tomahawk strike on its territory would be “serious, if not overwhelming”. Though, the US has not agreed to allow Ukraine the use of the missiles, the fact that Kyiv is trying to get permission to use them is “an attempt at escalation,” Putin told the media on Thursday. “But if such weapons are used to strike Russian territory, the response will be very serious, if not overwhelming. Let them think about that,” he added. Putin also vowed to continue “dialogue” despite US counterpart Donald Trump shelving a proposed summit. The Russian President also spoke on his cancelled meeting with US President Donald Trump, which was initially planned to be taking place in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks. Emphasising on the importance of continued diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine, Putin on Thursday said: “Well, what can one always say? Dialogue is always better than confrontation, than disputes, or even more so than war.” “That is why we have always supported the continuation of dialogue, and we continue to support it now,” he added. “It would be a mistake for both me and the US President to approach this lightly and come away from this meeting without the expected result,” Putin said, emphasising that the meeting was originally proposed by the US side. The Russian leader said Washington had proposed the summit but was now “postponed”. Putin also dismissed Washington’s latest sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, calling them a futile attempt to strong-arm Moscow into compliance. “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” Putin said, after the US imposed sweeping restrictions on Rosneft and Lukoil — Russia’s largest oil producers. The sanctions were announced after the Kremlin rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire in its ongoing war with Ukraine. (IANS)
Also Read: Putin-Trump meeting in Hungary postponed, no new date announced