Russia censures unilateral US, EU sanctions over Crimea
PressTV.ir
Thursday Mar 20, 2014
Russia has condemned as illegal the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union (EU) against Moscow over Ukrainian breakaway region of Crimea.
“Unilateral sanctions have never done any good. They are not legal. And, they do not have international legal grounds,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
The remarks come as the EU is poised to impose more sanctions on Russia following its decision to annex Crimea.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that a discussion of financial sanctions — what the EU is referring to as phase three of its response — would take place at the EU summit in Brussels later in the day, but no agreement on it is expected.
Moscow is reportedly considering a wide range of responses to Washington’s sanctions against it.
“We are looking at a broad range of responsive measures. They can be identical measures regarding certain lists of American officials, not necessarily representatives of the administration…who have influenced American policies,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday.
On March 17, US President Barack Obama issued an executive order that imposes sanctions, including assets freezes and travel bans, on eleven Russian, Crimean, and Ukrainian individuals for “contributing to the situation in Ukraine.”
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