MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. The United States has no right to meddle in Russia’s sovereign affairs and impose control over Russian vessels and ports. The new sanctions against North Korea envisaged by a bill passed by the US Congress are not binding for the Russian side, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, Vladimir Jabarov, told TASS.
The US House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday to tighten sanctions against North Korea. It provides for control over foreign vessels that have stayed in North Korea’s national sea or airspace over the past 365 days. The document also allows for the control over the activities of a number of ports in China, Iran, Syria’s Latakia and Tartus ports along with the Russian ports of Nakhodka, Vanino and the Vladivostok sea port in terms of their compliance with the restrictions imposed on North Korea.
"No single country is allowed to meddle in our internal affairs. The US sanctions are not the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. They can impose a thousand sanctions, but that does not mean that we have to comply with them," he emphasized. The senator added that Russia, of course, will not meet Washington’s demands with regard to its ports.
"When sanctions are imposed by the UN Security Council, they are binding for all countries. If sanctions are imposed by an individual country, that’s its private business. It is our right to violate them, we can do what we deem necessary," the politician noted.
The senator added that a new batch of sanctions against North Korea only makes the situation worse. "We need to negotiate. North Korea should be provided certain security guarantees by the Americans and the Japanese. Driving a country possessing nuclear weapons into a corner is extremely dangerous," Jabarov advised.