Russia ‘to retaliate US sanctions, open to normalization of ties’
Russia has once again warned that it will take retaliatory action against the United States’ latest anti-Moscow sanctions.
“We will continue to act calmly and pragmatically, reacting to all attacks in accordance with the principle of reciprocity,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview with Russian newspaper Pravda published on Tuesday, which also appeared on the official website of Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
The top Russian diplomat also expressed interest in resuming normal ties with the US.
“At the same time, we remain open to building normal mutually respectful relations with Washington based on a genuine consideration of each other’s interests,” he said.
Washington imposed new sanctions on Moscow earlier this month over what it called the attempted assassination in Britain of a former Russian intelligence agent, Sergei Skripal.
Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, fell ill in the British city of Salisbury on March 4. They were hospitalized and diagnosed with exposure to Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.
The UK blamed Russia but never offered evidence. Moscow has strongly denied the accusation.
The new US sanctions include blocking foreign aid to Russia, halting the sale of items or services related to defense and national security, and prohibiting any government credit support for exports to Russia.
The development comes amid Russia’s diplomatic, economic, and strategic measures to stave off the possible impacts of the US sanctions. The measures include establishing closer diplomatic ties with Iran, Turkey, and the European Union (EU), reducing the holding of US treasury securities, and turning eastward in pursuit of a closer Eurasian partnerships.
Earlier, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had described the new US sanction as “a counterproductive and meaningless move.”
On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said that all options were on the table for Moscow in responding to the US sanctions.
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