FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with journalists following a live nationwide broadcast call-in in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was determined to defend its economic interests after the adoption of a new package of U.S. sanctions against Moscow.

U.S. President Donald Trump grudgingly signed into law new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, a move Moscow said amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration.

“Nobody should doubt that Russia will protect and defend its interests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters.

Reiterating Moscow’s official stance, he said: “We in general believe that this policy of sanctions is short-sighted, unlawful and hopeless.”