Russia has dismissed sanctions against it over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, stating that neither the United States nor the European Union (EU) can isolate Moscow.
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Sergei Ivanov, the Kremlin’s chief of staff, said on Thursday, “You know, maybe it sounds a little harsh, but I really think… it is impossible to isolate Russia, and the world is not going to do so. It is not the entire world that is isolating us.”
“So-called sanctions are imposed [on Russia]. I say ‘so-called’ because real sanctions could only be imposed by the UN Security Council, and the rest is pure pressure, not sanctions,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
On October 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Washington that further tensions over Ukraine could threaten global stability and that his country would not be blackmailed by sanctions.
“How can we talk about de-escalation in Ukraine while the decisions on new sanctions are introduced almost simultaneously with the agreements on the peace process?” Putin said.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has also said resetting relations with the US is “impossible” while the Western sanctions remain in force, slamming the punitive measures as “destructive” and “stupid”.
Tensions between Russia and the West heightened after the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, formerly part of Ukrainian territory, joined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March.
Relations were strained further after Ukraine launched military operations in mid-April to silence pro-Russia protests in the country’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east.
The US and the EU have accused Russia of destabilizing Ukraine and have slapped a number of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russia figures. Moscow, however, rejects the accusation.
