"We are aware of the draft legislation before the Congress. It is important for possible new measures to be coordinated between international partners to ensure their impact internationally, and to maintain unity among partners on the sanctions. We will continue to closely follow developments in the Congress in this regard," the EU spokesperson said.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern condemned on Thursday the new US restrictive measures against Russia, saying that the use of political sanctions instruments should not be linked to economy and stressing that Washington’s decision will negatively affect its ties with the European Union.
Commenting on the US senators' initiative, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual Q&A session held earlier this week that Russia had always lived under sanctions, which were introduced at a time when other states saw Moscow as a competitor. The president added that even though the existing restrictive measures imposed by the United States and its allies had had some negative impact on Russia, it was not significant.
