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Russia not dropping plans for WTO lawsuits over Western sanctions — minister

Russia prepares to file lawsuits against the US and EU sanctions against Russian banks and companies which Moscow said in fact defied the principles of the international body

MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/. Russia has not dropped the idea of filing lawsuits to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge Western sanctions, Russia’s Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev told reporters on Wednesday.

“No, we have not dropped the plans, but we have not filed the lawsuits. This is a complex work which demands being thoroughly worked out. That’s why the whole process is at a working stage,” Ulyukayev said.

Russia is preparing to file lawsuits against the United States and the European Union sanctions against Russian banks and companies which Moscow said in fact defied the principles of the international body.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that the Western sanctions violate the principle of all countries’ equal access to the markets of goods and services, and ignore the most favored nation status in trade and the principle of fair and free competition.

The sectoral sanctions imposed by the US and the EU against Russia bar Russian state-owned energy companies and banks from raising long-term financing on western markets. The same sanctions apply to Russian private firms whose owners were blacklisted by the US and the EU.

Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over Russia’s stance on the Ukrainian crisis also include a ban on supplies of high-tech equipment for shelf, Arctic and shale hydrocarbons exploration and development to the country.