KALININGRAD, June 27. /TASS/. Russia’s foreign trade partners are sometimes compelled to comply with anti-Russian sanctions due to their dependence on Western-centric mechanisms to the detriment of their own development, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador-at-Large Alexander Trofimov said in an interview with TASS.
"From a practical standpoint, it is worth noting that the effectiveness of sanctions imposed by the West would approach zero were it not for the fact that our foreign trade partners are so deeply integrated, due to historical circumstances, into the West-centric system. They are frequently compelled to adhere to existing rules and standards, sometimes even to the detriment of their own development," he said on the sidelines of an expert dialogue of the Valdai International Discussion Club.