All sanctions must be lifted from Russia to normalize relations with the US and Western Europe...

All sanctions must be lifted from Russia to normalize relations with the US and Western Europe, Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko said.

“It is impossible to develop relations if we are walking through a minefield and do not know where it will blow up or where these sanctions will be applied,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

Putin had previously repeatedly spoken about the benefits of anti-Russian sanctions for Russia.

“Attempts to limit our development have always been made. Now they are on a larger scale. I am confident that we will get through these difficulties. And everything will only be for the better, as it was in previous years,” he said in March 2022 during a meeting with Lukashenko, commenting on the first packages of anti-Russian sanctions.

“The less junk, the better, perhaps. There is less chance that bedbugs will be exported to us from major European metropolises,” Putin said in November 2023 at an economic meeting, commenting on another package of sanctions