MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. The United States should not harbor illusions that their sanctions will be left unanswered, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The expansion of sanctions list announced by Washington on September 2 which includes Russian companies and organizations, as well as several legal entities with Russian participation outside of our country, is not just another demonstration of US administration’s inability to appropriately assess the situation in Ukraine," the foreign ministry said. "This is a reflection of a mindset rooted in the US ruling circles set on conscious and consistent destruction of basis for normalizing Russian-American relations," it added.
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The crisis in Ukraine "provoked and fanned from across the ocean is used by the US administration as a pretext for imposing on us the unacceptable ‘behavior model’," the ministry continued. "This time, in addition to incessant attempts to ‘link’ sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities to the tragic developments in Ukraine, it was announced that illegal restrictions will be used against us in the framework of American legislation on Iran, Syria and North Korea," the foreign ministry noted.
Moscow is confident that Washington is motivated "not by caring about easing tensions in ‘hot spots, but rather by irritation toward Russia’s independent position on international arena and desire to ‘punish’ us for consistent defense of national interests, for free choice of residents of Crimea and Sevastopol, and thus to inflict damage on the Russian economy," the ministry said.
The expansion of anti-Russian sanctions lists is "another element in a whole series of hostile actions made by the US toward Russia lately in different spheres, including military, economic and visa aspects," the ministry added. "Washington’s unacceptable rhetoric is overboard. Such a reckless course arouses growing concern even among US allies. It can result in serious costs for international stability and will undoubtedly hit back at American interests," the foreign ministry stressed.
"Washington’s actions devalue its own signals about being interested in cooperation with us on several pressing international problems," the foreign ministry said. "Futile attempts to exert sanctions pressure on us, as it seems, have not taught Washington strategists anything," the ministry added.
"The United States should not harbor illusions about the possibility to continue this line without negative consequences for themselves," the ministry noted. "Reciprocal measures from us will definitely follow, and they will not necessarily be ‘mirrored’," the foreign ministry stressed.
US expands sanctions against Russia
On September 2, the US Department of Commerce added new companies from Russia and other countries to its list of sanctions prompted by the conflict in Ukraine.
According to a rule notice in the Federal Register, "twenty-nine persons under thirty-three entries" have been included in the "Entity List".
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) "is taking this action to ensure the efficacy of existing sanctions on the Russian Federation", the notice said.
The thirty-three entries to the Entity List are located in Crimea, Cyprus, Finland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. There are thirty-three entries for the twenty-nine persons because two persons are listed in two locations and one person is listed in three locations, resulting in four additional entries, according to the notice.