MOSCOW, December 7 (Itar-Tass) — Moscow will have to respond to the Magnitsky Act but all responsibility for this will be borne by Washington, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“The decision of the American Senate which followed the suit of the lower house of the U.S. Congress and approved the legislation that imposes visa and financial sanctions against certain Russian citizens under far-fetched pretexts is a show in the theatre of the absurd,” the ministry said.
“Either Washington has forgotten what year it is now and thinks that the Cold War is still going on, or the senators have been carried away by their own publicity stunt so much that they have ignored the obvious: each country can deny entry to any person it thinks necessary as it is, with no special legislative acts required,” the ministry said.
It is equally strange to hear “human rights complaints from politicians of the country which has officially legalised torture and abductions around the world in the 21st century. Tragically, Russian citizens have fallen victim to such lawless acts as well,” the ministry said.
“It seems that the approach, prejudiced to the point of absurdity, which is practised by the U.S. Congress covers nothing else but the revengeful wish to settle scores for Russia’s principled and consistent position in world affairs in favour of strict compliance with international law,” the ministry said.
“We have to once again remind the hyper-active opponents of normal development of Russian-American relations that their efforts are pathetic. Nevertheless, Russia will have to respond,” it added.
Russia does not want “to reject the positive gains in our bilateral relations that were made in recent years, albeit not without difficulty”.
“But we have to understand that the law approved by the Senate will have a rather adverse impact on the future of bilateral cooperation,” the ministry warned. “Naturally, responsibility for this will lies utterly and completely with the U.S.”