Deputy FM: Russia Should Give Up Dollar in Mutual Payment Settlements

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow has not yet noticed any signs that the United States was ready to normalize relations.

"It seems that imposing sanctions on any occasion is the only instrument of American foreign policy… We see this in the example of Iran. This is blackmail and intimidation, even of their own allies," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated.

Moscow's response to Washington’s sanctions will not necessarily be mirrored, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said.

"One hundred percent mirror sanctions are not necessary. We cannot compete with the US in the economic sphere, as we are in different weight categories. We deliberately maintain uncertainty about the question of how we will respond because if we start to announce something in advance, it will mean a weakening of our positions," he noted.

According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, the sanctions can be answered symmetrically or asymmetrically, Moscow can also expand its own lists of "sanctioned" politicians.

"US officials, who consider themselves to be divine judges of the world, are not indifferent to it. When one of them finds out that he or she has been deprived of comprehensive rights, because he or she simply cannot get a Russian visa, it is a knock to the nose and self-esteem," Ryabkov stated.

On August 8, the United States informed they impose a new package of anti-Russian sanctions over Moscow's alleged use of chemical weapons in Salisbury in early March to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The new sanctions include, in particular, a ban on supplies of dual-purpose electronic devices and components to Russia.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team