Moscow slammed the idea to impose a fresh batch of US sanctions against Russian companies, dubbing them “echoes of hostility.”“In any case, these are echoes of an unfriendly and even hostile attitude towards our country,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters. He reiterated Putin’s statement that Moscow was ready to make progress in bilateral ties with Washington as long as the US wished to do so. “As far as we can see, this willingness is not so steady,” he stated, while promising to stay committed to a constructive approach. The US State Department said on Thursday it had prepared a new round of sanctions against Russian companies. The list includes entities associated with the intelligence and defense sectors as required under a 2017 law tightening sanctions on Russia.