Russia Reserves the Right to Respond to EU Sanctions

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that Moscow reserves the right to respond to European Union (EU) sanctions, and that it “will respond appropriately, carefully, and with our fundamental interests in mind.” The ministry clarified that Russian objectives in Ukraine have not changed and called the EU sanctions ineffective.

Regarding the US sanctions, the ministry said the move sent a counterproductive signal, including from the point of view of the Ukrainian settlement. “We see no significant obstacles to continuing the process initiated by the presidents of Russia and the US to agree on the political framework for a settlement in Ukraine and to fill it with concrete results.”

Meanwhile, China said it “opposes” recent sanctions slapped by the United States on the two largest Russian oil companies over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, saying they had “no basis in international law”.

At a daily press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun criticized sanctions on Russia agreed on Wednesday by the European Union whose targets included Chinese companies, saying Beijing was “strongly dissatisfied”. “China is neither the creator of the Ukraine crisis nor a party to it,” he said. (Agencies)