Putin fires back at USA: Russia REFUSES to help calm North Korea after US makes hit list

Mr Putin said the US was stupid to treat Russia like Kim Jong-un’s regime or Iran if it expected his nation to help them crackdown on the threat from warmongering North Korea, warning that the Kremlin would now refrain from reciprocal steps. 

He described the US Kremlin report, which has named 210 Russian officials and billionaires believed to have close links to Mr Putin, as an unfriendly act.

He said it was now his job to think about ourselves and the Russian economy after the report was published this morning in a bid to punish Russia for its alleged meddling in the US election. 

The Russian leader said the list complicates US-Russia relations, but he was keen to see the relationship develop. 

He said it would be complete stupidity to let relations between his nation and the US reduce to zero. 

The list was drawn up as part of a sanctions package signed into law in August last year, but it does not include sanctions. 

However it casts a potential shadow of sanctions risk over a wide circle of wealthy Russians.

Mr Putin said he wanted to build ties with the US to the extent they want to. 

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