Russian Foreign Ministry: Western sanctions against Russia are ‘hypocritical'
On Saturday, Moscow condemned the “hypocrisy” of new Western sanctions imposed against a number of Russian officials because of their involvement in the seizure of Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait last year. The Kremlin warned that Russia will respond to the Western states’ actions.
On Friday, the United States, Canada and the European Union introduced new sanctions against more than a dozen Russian officials and companies in response to the ongoing Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.
“The pretext for including our countrymen in the EU’s illegitimate sanctions lists astounds with its hypocrisy and cynicism,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement.
In a previous statement, published on Friday evening, Moscow warned that "unfriendly actions of the EU will not stay unanswered" and accused Brussels of supporting Kyiv on the eve of the presidential elections in Ukraine, which are due on March 31.
"It cannot be ignored that this decision was made shortly before the presidential elections in Ukraine", reads the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Moscow also accused Washington and Ottawa of "Russophobia" and warned that the sanctions "will not lead to the desired results for the United States and Canada."
On Friday, the U.S. Treasury put six Russian officials, six defense companies and two energy and construction companies on the sanctions list. These sanctions were associated with the seizure of Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait last November, the annexation of the Crimea and the support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.