MOSCOW, March 20. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has imposed reciprocal sanctions against a number of American officials and lawmakers, the diplomatic service said in a statement on Thursday.

“In response to sanctions announced by US administration on March 17 against several Russian officials and deputies of the Federal Assembly as punitive measures for backing the Crimean referendum, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states about imposing reciprocal sanctions against the same number of American officials and lawmakers,” the diplomatic service said.

“We have repeatedly warned that applying sanctions is a double-edged issue and would hit as a boomerang the USA itself. It is unacceptable and counterproductive to speak with our country in this way, as Washington could find out many times,” the Foreign Ministry noted. “However, the American side, as it seems, continues pinning faith on efficiency of such methods taken from the arsenal of the past, and does not want to admit the obvious: Crimeans have democratically and in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter voted for the reunification with Russia, which respects and accepts this choice. Such a decision can be pleasant or not, but this refers to reality that should be faced.”

“There cannot be any doubts: on every hostile step we will respond in an adequate way,” the ministry stressed.

 

The black list includes:

• Caroline Atkinson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics;
• Daniel Pfeiffer, Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Advisor to the President for Strategy and Communications;
• Benjamin Rhodes, Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication for to the President;
• Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader;
• John Boehner, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives;
• Robert Menendez, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations;
• Mary Landrieu, senator;
• John McCain, senator;
• Daniel Coats, senator.