United States President Donald Trump played down Russia’s response to the energy sanctions announced by the US on Wednesday, saying that the real impact of these measures would only become clear over the next few months.

When a reporter at the White House asked him on Thursday about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that the sanctions would not hurt the country’s economy, Trump said, “I am glad he feels that way. I'll let you know about it in six months from now. Let's see how it all works out.”

In reaction to Trump’s new sanctions, Putin said that Moscow would “never bow down” to pressure from the United States.

On Thursday, the Russian leader described the sanctions as an “unfriendly act that does nothing to strengthen Russian-American relations” and called them a failed “attempt to put pressure on Russia.”

“No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” Putin added while speaking to Russian journalists.

He also claimed that the sanctions would not significantly affect the Russian economy.

Putin went on to warn Trump of a “strong response” if Ukraine used US Tomahawk missiles against Russia in the ongoing conflict.

Trump had announced sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, on Wednesday to try to push Moscow to stop its war in Ukraine. The announcement caused global oil prices to rise by five percent, reported Reuters.

This is the first time Trump has imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia during his second term.

Commenting further on the sanctions, Putin said it was “an attempt to put pressure on Russia.”

“But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decides anything under pressure,” he added.

Earlier, Trump had hoped to convince Putin to stop the war in Ukraine through dialogue, and the two leaders were scheduled to meet in Budapest. The meeting was later cancelled by the United States. “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin. It just didn't feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So, I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday.

Trump has also repeated that India is likely to reduce its purchases of Russian oil. While there has been no official confirmation, several Indian and Chinese refiners may be forced to cut imports because the sanctions largely block Russian oil companies from accessing the global financial system, which relies heavily on the US dollar, and oil payments are mostly made in dollars, as reported by Hindustan Times earlier.

Several Indian refiners are now reviewing their Russian oil purchases and waiting for guidance from the government on how to proceed.