Russia warns new US sanctions will return ties to Cold War era

Russia News.Net Thursday 17th July, 2014

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON - Russia Thursday warned that fresh economic sanctions slapped by the United States targeting its major energy, financial and defense companies would seriously harm their bilateral ties relegating them to the 1980s Cold War era.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine would serve no purpose for the US.

"Any sanction is evil. They don't add any optimism for the economy or for the people and never bring any obvious success," Medvedev said during a government meeting, according to official Ria Novosti news agency.

"We will simply return to the '80s in relations with the states that are introducing these sanctions," Medvedev said.

President Vladimir Putin said the new sanctions needed a careful look. He warned that they could bring the US-Russian ties to a dead end, according to Ria Novosti.

In televised comments, Putin said that the sanctions were "driving into a corner" relations between the US and Russia as well as the interests of American companies and "the long-term national interests of the US government and people".

Speaking in Brasilia, Putin said the sanctions would damage U.S. energy companies, and bring relations with Russia to a "dead end."

The Russian foreign ministry slammed the new unilateral sanctions President Barack Obama announced Wednesday.

A spokesman for the ministry decried what it claimed were "bullying" tactics by Washington.

"We consider the new round of American sanctions against Russia as a primitive attempt to take vengeance for the fact that events in Ukraine are not playing out to the tune of the script of Washington," the ministry said in a statement.

The sanction targeted two major Russian energy firms, Novatek and Rosneft, and a pair of leading Russian financial institutions, Gazprombank and VEB. The embargoes restrict their ability to access US capital markets.

Eight Russian arms firms that produce small arms, mortar shells and tanks were also included in the list which includes four individuals.

The individuals are: Putin adviser Igor Shchegolev, Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Neverov, Ukrainian separatist leader Aleksandr Borodai and Sergey Beseda, an official with Russia's Federal Security Service, the intelligence agency that replaced the KGB after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

US President Barack Obama said the intensification of sanctions, which includes the freezing of assets belonging to defence companies and some senior Russian officials, was intended to remind Russia "that its actions in Ukraine have consequences".