MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. EU sanctions against individuals and entities associated with Wagner Group, a private military company, hurt the right of countries to choose how they ensure their security, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday.
The opportunity for African and Middle Eastern countries to hire private security companies "weighs down on the European partners and stirs their post-imperial ambitions," she said. "We point out that private military companies aren’t controlled by the Russian government."
Countries have every right to choose any partner that meets their security needs, Zakharova said. The EU sanctions are calling into question the sovereign right of every country to conduct independent foreign policy, she said.
"They are a direct violation of the ground rules of international law," the statement said.