NOVO-OGARYOVO, June 17. /TASS/. Russia is trying to live effectively in conditions of sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists on Wednesday while answering the question on Moscow’s possible reaction in case the European Union extends anti-Russian restrictive measures.
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- Western threats of more sanctions prove they are not linked to Ukraine crisis — Deputy FM
- Russian diplomat accuses Kiev of fuelling crises for maintaining anti-Russian sanctions
- Russian Central Bank keeps forecast of sanctions regime to last until 2018
"It’s up to those who imposed them. We have focused on efficiently working and living in those conditions," Lavrov said.
For incorporation of Crimea after last year’s coup in Ukraine, Russia came under sanctions on the part of the United States and many European countries. The restrictive measures were soon intensified following Western and Ukrainian claims that Russia supported militias in self-proclaimed republics in Ukraine’s southeast and was involved in destabilization of Ukraine.
As countermeasures, Russia imposed on August 6, 2014 a one-year ban on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United States and Norway.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly denied accusations of "annexing" Crimea, because Crimea reunified with Russia voluntarily after a referendum, as well as claims that Moscow could in any way be involved in hostilities in Ukraine’s east.