MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Relations of Russia with the member-countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are developing steadily, and nothing, including the US sanctions policy, threatens them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at a press conference on the results of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council meeting.
"Nothing threatens our relations [with the CIS countries], they are developing steadily. With regard to those efforts that the United States and its satellites are trying to expand in the form of so-called secondary, tertiary, and other illegal sanctions, I have already responded, we know how to counteract this criminal, in fact, raiding activity," he emphasized.
Lavrov noted that the links between the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ensure interaction between Russia, China and India, while the economic, logistical and creative potential of these associations contributes to the well-being of all CIS countries.
"Acting strictly in accordance with international law, with the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO), we are progressively developing the economy of each CIS country (each country's GDP is growing), trade turnover, investment turnover, and other economic ties," Lavrov concluded.