MOSCOW, September 12. /ITAR-TASS/. The European Union's sanctions against Russia escalate the political conflict between Moscow and Brussels, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Friday.

"New EU sanctions show that they have chosen to deepen the political conflict with Russia, even at the expense of substantial financial losses," Alexei Pushkov, the head of the State Duma international affairs committee, wrote on Twitter.

The European Union tightened economic sanctions on Friday targeting the finance, energy and defense sectors of the Russian economy and extended asset freezes and travel bans to 24 more officials.