MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. The West was unable to shake the Russian economy through sanctions, and the introduced anti-Russian restrictions caused damage to the population of Western countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Newsweek magazine.

"The West has been imposing unilateral restrictive measures under the guise of crippling Russia. However, they have failed to shatter the Russian economy. Moreover, the sanctions have appeared to be a two-edge weapon: increasing prices and decreasing incomes are seen in many European countries, as well as energy shortages and threats of social upheavals," Lavrov said.

The Russian Foreign Minister stressed that now "the routine benefits of civilization become the privilege of the rich."

"This is the price that ordinary citizens pay for the anti-Russian policy of the ruling elites," he said.

Lavrov recalled that the whole sectors of European economies (including metallurgic and chemical) have been prospering for decades due to stable supplies of Russian inexpensive energy commodities.

"It allowed the EU countries to enter into successful competitions, including with American companies. It looks like this will not be the case anymore, and it has not been our choice. If they want to act to the detriment of their own interests in the West, we cannot keep them from doing that," the Russian top diplomat said.