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Anti-Russian sanctions

Kremlin vows tit-for-tat response to new sanctions

The Kremlin says Moscow concerned over possible new sanctions from the US

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, December 25./TASS/. Possible new sanctions from the US raise concerns in Moscow, it will be guided by the reciprocity principle in its response, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

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"Of course, we are concerned about this," the spokesman said referring to information about possible new anti-Russian sanctions.

"Russia is first of all guided by the principle of reciprocity in this issue," he said. "In case when different restrictions are targeting Russia, they cannot remain unanswered," Peskov said. "The decision on what exactly [the response will be] is taken mainly by the head of state," he specified.

"We know about ongoing discussions, the public opinion, discussions in mass media, among legislators of the US concerning possible new sanctions," Peskov went on. "I would not want to resort to some empty talk like ‘a Cold War’, but in any case we would not want to see the situation in which our bilateral relations, altogether in a rather deplorable state, would come under greater, maybe excessive risks and dangers," he stressed.

He said Moscow "has fears about sanctions". "We don’t know what kind of sanctions they will be, these are so far speculations not based on some official information," Peskov said, adding that he could not take part in such discussion "without having any base".

He said "the Kremlin officials and President Putin have never concealed their negative attitude to sanctions imposed against Russia". "President Putin says consistently that we deem these sanctions unlawful, and that essentially Russia is not going to discuss the issue of lifting these sanctions and is not doing this. This is the issue rather for the agenda of those countries that took the respective decisions," he went on.

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