During Monday’s daily press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki disputed that the US was purposely delaying sanctioning the lady suspected of being Putin’s girlfriend.

“We’re continuing to review sanctions,” Psaki said when asked why Russian politician and ex-gymnast Alina Kabaeva had not yet been targeted.

“No-one is safe from our sanctions,” Psaki continued.

“We’ve already of course sanctioned President Putin, but also his daughter and his closest cronies, and we will continue to review more,” she added.

The US has been urged to sanction the 38-year-old Olympic gold medalist, as it has done with Putin’s two adult daughters.

Putin is known for keeping his personal life quiet, and he has never confirmed any love relationship with Russia’s “hidden first lady,” as she has been nicknamed in the Russian and foreign press.

According to the Wall Street Journal, US authorities postponed penalties against Kabaeva due to concerns that Putin would interpret them as a personal attack.

It would be viewed as “so personal a blow to Mr. Putin that it could further escalate tensions between Russia and the US”, the Journal wrote.

For the latest International News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest International News on oldsite.bolnews.com