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US anti-Russian sanctions imposed for no apparent reason - Lavrov

"So, I can express nothing but regrets about such Russophobic mania of our American colleagues. It goes beyond all bound," Russian Foreign Minister stressed

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. The United States is imposing further anti-Russian sanctions for no apparent reason and such Russophobia is regrettable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after talks with his visiting French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

"It is no way helps to improve the atmosphere. The sanctions were imposed for no apparent reason, again," he said. "References to the city in Ukraine, to my mind, only make all serious expert smile."

According to the Russian top diplomat, EU partners are "hiding behind an insincere formula: the sanctions will be lifted as soon as Russia implements the Minsk agreements." "We invite our friends in the European Union to once again read the Minsk agreements which have it quite clearly who must do what and in which sequence," he said.

"So, I can express nothing but regrets about such Russophobic mania of our American colleagues. It goes beyond all bound," he stressed.

On Tuesday, the US Department of the Treasury added 38 more organizations and individuals, including two Russian state employees and their two aides, to the sanction list. Among the blacklisted Russian nationals are Deputy Minister of Economic Development Sergey Nazarov, member of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house and Russian president’s envoy for relations with organizations of compatriots abroad Alexander Babakov and his two aides, namely Alexander Vorobyov and Mikhail Plisyuk. Apart from that, sanctions were imposed on 11 individuals and organizations from Crimea the United States keeps on considering a Ukrainian territory.

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