Moscow censures fresh US sanctions over Ukraine crisis
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has censured fresh US sanctions imposed against a number of Russian individuals and companies over Moscow's alleged role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
“By introducing new sanctions against Russian citizens and companies, the US once again demonstrated that it has made a choice in favor of escalating the confrontation," the ministry said in a Friday statement.
A day earlier, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced its new round of sanctions against 11 more Russian individuals and another 15 companies.
The bans "not only destroy US-Russian relations; they also hinder collaboration in solving other global problems," Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, adding, "Of course, this will not be left without a reaction from us.”
Earlier on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia could retaliate against the sanctions on an asymmetrical basis.
“We can’t exclude any asymmetric actions. However, this is not our goal,” Peskov said, adding, “Our attitude towards US sanctions is well known: we consider these sanctions illegal, against international laws and damaging bilateral relations.”
The US Embassy in Moscow said on Friday that the extended bans were a "routine step to strengthen existing sanctions measures."
"They are meant to stop persistent and substantial evasion of our existing sanctions and to ensure that previously imposed sanctions retain their effectiveness," embassy spokesman Will Stevens told German news agency DPA.
Since March 2014, the US and some other Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over accusations that Moscow is involved in the deadly crisis in neighboring Ukraine, which broke out when Kiev launched military operations to crack down on pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine last year. Russia has denied the allegation.
In a tit-for-tat measure against the sanctions, Moscow imposed food bans on the US, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway last August.
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