MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. It will be of no surprise if the outgoing US administration of Barack Obama continues to "hectically" impose new sanctions against Russia until the very last moment, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS Thursday.

"As far as the incumbent administration is concerned, it is absolutely hopeless in this aspect. It will be of no surprise to me that a minute before the inauguration of the next president at 11:59, January 20, White House officials will continue to hectically sign more decrees and executive orders," he said.

The diplomat added that in the past two years Moscow "saw lots of evidence that the incumbent US administration simply has no other ideas or even thoughts regarding relations with Russia."

When asked whether the European Union may also impose another round of sanctions against Syria and its allies, Ryabkov said that to date, the US and EU have imposed their restrictions in a coordinated manner.

"On both sides of the Atlantic, no one is trying to conceal that it was coordinated," he said. "Who spurs whom, who incites whom does not matter in general. The dependence of the European foreign policy became evident to us long ago."

On Tuesday the House of Representatives of the US Congress unanimously voted in favor of a bill imposing sanctions on the Syrian government led by President Bashar Asad and those who support him, including Russia and Iran. The bill is yet to be approved by the Senate.