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Moscow will announce response to US sanctions in near future — diplomat

The spokeswoman informed that US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan had been summoned by the Russian Foreign Ministry over the announcement of the new restrictions
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Alexander Shcherbak/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Moscow will announce its response to new US sanctions in the near future, the response is currently in the works, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing on Thursday.

"Our response is inevitable, it will be worked out. You will hear about it shortly, I think. Our experts are working on it right now," she pointed out.

She also informed that US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan had been summoned by the Russian Foreign Ministry over the announcement of new US sanctions. "I think that right now, the US Ambassador to Russia is at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country. I wouldn’t have said this before, but now I can say this: this won’t be a pleasant meeting for him," the spokeswoman said.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia. In particular, the US government is prohibiting its companies from acquiring Russian debt obligations issued by the Bank of Russia, the Russian National Wealth Fund or the Russian Ministry of Finance after June 14, 2021. Besides, the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on 16 organizations and 16 individuals allegedly involved in interfering in US elections. In addition, Washington introduced sanctions against eight individuals and legal entities tied to Crimea, including members of the Crimean government.

The United States is also expelling 10 diplomats working at the Russian Embassy in Washington DC. According to the US administration, they "include members of Russian intelligence services."