Western sanctions on Russia to hit global markets hard: Russian envoy

The Russian ambassador to the United States has condemned new Western sanctions against Russia over recent developments in Ukraine, warning that they will be to the detriment of the United States and the West but will not force Moscow to change its foreign policy.

"There is no doubt that the sanctions imposed against us will strongly hit the global financial and energy markets. The United States will not be left out, where ordinary citizens will feel the full consequences of rising prices," Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday.

His remarks came after the US imposed financial penalties on Russia because of its deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine that Moscow has recognized as independent republics.

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The Russian diplomat said sanctions against Russia will not solve any problems, adding that, "It is hard to imagine that anyone in Washington is hoping Russia will revise its foreign policy under the threat of restrictions."

"I do not remember a single day when our country lived without any restrictions from the Western world. We have learned to work in such conditions. And not only to survive, but also to develop our state," he said.

Antonov also said that Washington had done nothing over the past seven years to convince Kiev of the need to comply with the Western-brokered peace agreements seeking to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

On Monday, Putin signed a decree recognizing the breakaway Lugansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine as independent republics and instructed Russia's Defense Ministry to deploy peacekeeping troops to the two regions.

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Donetsk and Lugansk were turned into self-proclaimed republics by their ethnic Russian residents in 2014, which triggered a violent conflict between government forces and the secessionists.

Following the announcement, US President Joe Biden called Russia's actions in Donetsk and Lugansk the "beginning of an invasion" and said Washington would impose sanctions on Russian sovereign debt and Russian elites as well as their family members. The US president claimed that the sanctions on Russian sovereign debt would cut off the Russian government from Western financing.

In addition, Americans were banned from trade, investment, and financial transactions with Donetsk and Lugansk.

Biden said that the sanctions were an initial response to Russian actions and added that his administration would impose further sanctions if Moscow engaged in a broader invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and its Western allies have long been accusing Russia of preparing for an invasion of Ukraine by amassing 150,000 troops and armaments near the border with that country. Russia has rejected the claim, saying the military build-up is defensive in nature.

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