Moscow - Moscow says that the latest sanctions against certain sectors of the Russian economy run counter to the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and will have adverse effects for EU countries.
“The restrictive measures in the financial sphere will also have negative consequences for the EU members’ banks operating in Russia,” the Foreign Ministry said in a commentary posted on its website on Wednesday. Some of these banks “still receive their biggest profit from the operations of their bank subsidiaries precisely in our country,” it said.
“It will also be recalled that the sectoral sanctions run counter to the WTO rules,” the commentary said.
“Brussels itself puts obstacles in the way of further cooperation with Russia in such a key area as energy,” it said.
“This is a thoughtless, irresponsible move. It will inevitably lead to a rise in prices on the European energy market,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry also expressed bewilderment with the EU decision to impose an embargo trade in arms and military hardware with Russia. “Unlike Kyiv, which, on the contrary, had similar restrictions against it lifted recently, Russia is not taking part in the armed conflict in Ukraine,” the commentary said.
The ministry expressed a view that Russia will overcome the difficulties that are likely to be caused by the new sanctions.
“As regards the difficulties which could arise in certain sectors of the Russian economy, these, no doubt, will be surmounted. The efficiency and self-sufficiency of our economy will rise,” the commentary said.
The ministry has also criticized the political aspect of the EU decisions made with respect to Russia.
“We feel ashamed for the European Union which, after a long search for its own ‘united voice’, spoke with Washington’s voice, having virtually discarded the basic European values, including the presumption of innocence. The EU policy is no longer based on verified facts but is written to Washington’s dictation between viewings of dubious clips on Youtube,” the commentary said.
“Moscow is disappointed by the EU inability to play an independent role in global affairs,” the ministry said.
The countries, which were most active in proposing sanctions against Moscow, will be the least hit by these decisions, the foreign ministry said.
“The Russian and EU economies are ‘communicating vessels’ and the transition to ‘the third wave’ of sanctions started by the EU will affect the EU economic situation no less than Russia’s. The degree of showy diligence by certain EU countries in pushing through this irrational decision is inversely proportional to the level of consequences for their welfare,” the commentary said.
Finally, the Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the sanctions attest to the reluctance to settle the Ukrainian crisis.
“Following the anti-Russian sanctions agreed by the EU on July 29, we have to acknowledge the obvious lack of political will and the reluctance by this union to reach a solution to the crisis in Ukraine,” the commentary said.
