MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. Western sanctions against Russia will remain for decades irrespective of the result of the Ukrainian crisis settlement, Dmitry Birichevsky, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of Economic Cooperation, said.
In its geopolitical standoff with Moscow the West tries to use "the existing mutual dependence in global economic relations, ties," ignoring the destructive consequences of illegal restrictive measures both for Russia and for itself, the diplomat said at a Valdai Discussion Club event on sanctions against Russia.
"This story is for decades irrespective of the process and the result of the Ukrainian crisis settlement. In fact, this is only a pretext as sanctions were imposed much earlier, targeting this unfair competition," he stressed.
More than 20,000 sanctions have already been imposed, including personal, sectoral and freezing of assets, Birichevsky added.