MOSCOW, April 16./ITAR-TASS/. Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Russia is examining the possibility of a WTO action against the USA for sanctions against Russian banks.
"WTO gives us additional opportunities, for example, at the WTO summit in Geneva we discussed the opportunity of actions against the USA for the sanctions they had used against Russian banks," Ulyukayev said. "From our point of view, this falls under WTO restrictions, so we're hoping to use WTO mechanisms to bring our partners down a peg in this area."
According to the minister, Russia has already begun a WTO action against the European Union over "energy adjustment" tariffs which "in fact introduce discriminatory restrictions against our companies."
Earlier reports said the US Treasury introduced sanctions against several Russian natural persons and organizations on March 20. The USA put on the blacklist four banks: Rossiya Bank, SMP Bank, Sobinbank and Investcapitalbank.