UNITED NATIONS, April 26. /TASS/. Russia battles against the Western countries’ unilateral sanctions at the United Nations, primarily standing up for the interests of developing countries that suffer enormously from such measures, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman.

"Now, the issue of never-ending sanctions imposed by Western countries on anyone, not us only, is, of course, very pressing," he said.

According to the diplomat, Russia is engaged in "fierce battles on this issue in different committees of the General Assembly."

The Western countries, Nebenzya said, justify the sanctions "with preposterous theses that they supervise the implementation of international conventions, that is, they supervise order in the world."

"The fight against unilateral coercive measures is a fight for our own interests, but, first and foremost, for the interests of developing countries that suffer from this to a huge extent," he stressed.

According to the Russian ambassador, the impact of "these unilateral measures on some countries is close to the impact from weapons of mass destruction."

"It is a very pressing issue, which is a talking point now. I think that it would be good to pay more attention to this," he concluded.