MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Countries who introduce sanctions against members of the Russian presidential administration are making a mistake, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. He noted that the sanctions mechanism is a double-edged sword that causes damage to both sides.
"You know that in their sanctions hysteria, many countries even announced sanctions against the leadership of the [Russian presidential] administration. Of course, this is simply nonsensical, there’s no other way to put it," the spokesman told reporters on Tuesday. The spokesman commented on the joking statement made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he said that some of his acquaintances get offended for not being included on the sanctions list despite being close to the Russian leader.
"As for the statement of the president, you realize that this is a figure of speech. And it is true, some joke about it," the spokesman said. "Other members of the administration often joke and say that they feel uncomfortable when such important people [the leadership of the presidential administration - TASS] are under sanctions, and they aren’t. Those are just jokes, just a figure of speech." He added that practice shows that "more often, this is a double-edged sword, which deals a blow not only to the interests of those falling under the restrictions, but of those who introduce these restrictions as well."
"Sanctions can’t be for the best. Sanctions are always bad," Peskov stressed. "However, while being under some absolutely unlawful restrictions, we get an opportunity to mobilize our domestic resources and do what, perhaps, we would have needed much more time to do under normal conditions: establish our own production, our own electronic systems, strengthen our banking and financial infrastructure and so on."