Ukraine promises to impose counter-sanctions in response to Russia's transit restrictions
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine declared its intention to impose retaliatory sanctions in response to Russia's transit restrictions. The reaction of the Ukrainian Government to the transit restrictions imposed by a decree signed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin was expressed by the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Stepan Kibiv, on July 4th.
According to Kibiv, imposing retaliatory sanctions is a common international practice in line with international law.
“We saw the decree of the Russian President that was published unexpectedly even for Russian officials. The government of Ukraine was ready for this. Once we see that these aren’t just simple threats, we will apply those retaliatory actions that we consider necessary right after Russia starts putting these restrictions into practice,” the Minister of Infrastructure, Vladimir Omelian, added.
The decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin imposes additional restrictions on the shipment of cargo from Ukraine to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Such changes can temporarily cause a full suspension of transit of Ukrainian goods through Russian territory; not only to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan but also to other countries in the region, Kibiv stated.