Washington (CNN) White House press secretary Sarah Sanders wouldn't say Thursday whether Russian President Vladimir Putin was a friend or a foe, telling reporters: "Russia is going to have to make that determination."

The comment came on the same day the Trump administration announced it is enacting new sanctions on Russian individuals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller. Though President Donald Trump has recently admitted that Russia meddled in the 2016 US election, his administration has been far more hard and direct with the nation than the commander in chief.

Asked directly if the Russian President was "a friend or a foe," Sanders dodged.

"I think that's something that Russia's going to have to make that determination," Sanders said. "They're going to have to decide whether or not they want to be a good actor or a bad actor."

She added: "I think you can see from the actions that we've taken up until this point, we're going to be tough on Russia until they decide to change their behavior."

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