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US DoS denies US seeking to squeeze Russia out of weaponry market through sanctions

The briefing as such was devoted to the toughening of sanctions against Russia, Iran and the DPRK that envisions restrictions on the individuals cooperating with Russian defense manufacturers

WASHINGTON, October 28. /TASS/. U.S. has no plans to use sanctions as a tool in competition with Russia on the markets of weaponry although Washington and NATO have pursued a longtime policy of "reducing reliance on old Soviet and Russian military equipment," a senior Department of State official told a specialized news briefing on Friday.

"This has been longstanding policy not only in the United States but among our NATO allies and many countries are working in that direction already," the official said. "So this is actually simply support of them reflective of what's been the policy."

The briefing as such was devoted to the toughening of sanctions against Russia, Iran and the DPRK that envisions restrictions on the individuals cooperating with Russian defense manufacturers.

"I mean certainly we're not looking at this particular sanctions legislation as some sort of competitive tool," he said. "That's not the intent of Congress and certainly not the administration's intent in enforcing it.".