Russia rejects US, EU sanctions in all their forms - Lavrov
29 April 2014, 18:18 -- Moscow repudiates US and EU sanctions on Russia over the Ukrainian standoff and calls for national reconciliation in Ukraine through all-inclusive political dialogue, Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday, RIA Novosti reports. 'We denounce sanctions in all their forms, including those that have been announced by the United States and the EU against all common sense due to events in Ukraine,' Lavrov during talks with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla in Havana.
'We insist on immediate resolution [of the crisis in Ukraine] through all-Ukrainian national dialogue,' Lavrov said.
The European Union on Tuesday imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 15 additional Russian and Ukrainian officials. The decision brings to 48 the number of people that the EU has put under sanctions in response to Crimea's reunification with Russia, which the West does not acknowledge, as well as Russia's position on Ukraine.
The news came after the US Treasury announced Monday it had imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, on seven Russian individuals as well as 17 Russian companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'inner circle.'
Moscow asserts right to respond to US sanctions - Russia's FM
Moscow retains the right to respond to sanctions imposed by Washington, but cooperation between the two countries is still possible, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. 'Russia retains its right to appropriately respond to the unfriendly steps against [Russia], including the introduction of any kind of sanction limitations against the Americans,' according to a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
'At the same time, we believe that bilateral cooperation will be needed to resolve a wide range of issues on the international agenda and settle the crisis in various regions in the world,' the statement said.
On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, against 7 Russian individuals and 17 Russian companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'inner circle'.
'The European Union followed the US move on Tuesday, announcing sanctions on 15 additional Russian and Ukrainian officials. Most of those listed in the EU sanctions expanded on the US list. Moscow has repeatedly warned that talking in the language of sanctions is 'inappropriate and counterproductive' and warned its Western partners about the 'boomerang effect' that sanctions would have.
No reasons to hurry with retaliatory sanctions on US, EU - Russian Deputy FM
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov believes that there are no reasons to hurry with retaliatory sanctions against the United States and the European Union though sanctions will be certainly imposed, the diplomat said in an online interview with electronic news edition Gazeta.ru on Tuesday. 'They try to mislead us from the chosen path using unacceptable methods,' he said. 'In this situation, we cannot stay indifferent. The shape of response is no less significant than its content in this case.'
'I just want to say that it is also possible sometimes to look at all this from the outside,' Ryabkov said, adding that 'It is possible to restrict rhetoric and limit some manifestations of unacceptance. Everything depends from a concrete moment.'
'We are quite cool-blooded and are ready to take each turn of the current crisis from some distance, without yielding to passion and a storm in the soul according to the Descartes philosophy. Let these people be on the other side and they cannot put up with what is happening. This is a burden of human passions, as I would describe what is happening in Washington now.'
In reply to a question whether it means that Russia has an already prepared response to the US and the EU, but is waiting for a moment to give it, Ryabkov said: 'We not only have it, something is in effect and something will be introduced soon. There is a question as to which concrete symmetrical response will be given and what it will imply,' he said, adding that 'probably, there are no reasons to make haste of it. But it will follow for sure.'
If EU imposes new sanctions it will mean Brussels has no comprehension of Ukrainian crisis - Moscow
If the EU introducing new sanctions against Russia is an attempt to stabilize the situation in Ukraine, this means that Brussels has no comprehension of the domestic political situation there, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
'If someone in Brussels hopes to stabilize the situation in Ukraine namely this way, it is an evident sign of their complete incomprehension of the domestic political situation in this country and a direct invitation for local neo-Nazis to continue [to promote] anarchy and outrages regarding the civilians of the southeast,' the Russian Foreign Ministry posted a statement.
Russia says EU should be 'ashamed' of itself over sanctions, response ready
Russia on Tuesday criticised new European Union sanctions imposed on Russian officials over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, saying the EU was under following Washington's lead and should be ashamed of itself.
'Instead of forcing the Kiev clique to sit at the table with southeastern Ukraine to negotiate the future structure of the country, our partners are doing Washington's bidding with new unfriendly gestures aimed at Russia,' the Foreign Ministry said.
Moscow has drafted its response to Western sanctions imposed this week, with a range of measures expected to be introduced soon, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Tuesday. 'We do not just have it: something has come into force, something will be introduced in the short term.
The issue is about what kind of a symmetrical response it will be and what will be included,' Ryabkov said in an interview with the Russian news site Gazeta.ru. The diplomat added, however, that while haste is not needed, Russia's response 'will necessarily follow.' He said the US sanctions policy is aimed at leading Russia astray by using 'improper means.'
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