WASHINGTON, April 21. /TASS/. At the meeting of financial ministers from G20 nations, Russia condemned the use of economic sanctions and equaled them to protectionism, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday.
"We spoke in condemnation of the restrictive measures which are being introduced against Russia and a number of other states. Politics is being replaced by sanctions, which, in our opinion, contradicts the principles of G20," the minister told reporters on the sidelines of this year’s Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in Washington, DC.
He said that his speech also mentioned tariff restrictions, protectionism and the need to respect principle of extraterritoriality.
"We need to consider those issues and make decisions as professionals, from the economic point of view. I think that such decisions should also be condemned because they contradict the spirit of G20 decisions," Siluanov said.
He added that economic sanctions were an element of protectionism.
"Sanctions against Rusal have primarily dealt a blow to Europe, they positively influenced the stocks of US aluminum producers, and had a negative impact on Russia. This measure is purely protectionist," he said.
According to Siluanov, many of G20 finanical ministers spoke in favor of putting an end to the policy of protectionism during the G20 meeting. IMF head Christine Lagarde also mentioned this issue in her speech, he said.