"I do even believe that some of the sanctions like those that were introduced under the pretext of the referendum that took place last year in Crimea and Sevastopol, that those sanctions may stay forever, because we are not going to change anything in our position on Crimea," Ryabkov said on the sidelines of the BRICS summit currently being held in the Russian city of Ufa.
Ryabkov stated that the sanctions policy is illegitimate, calling them one of the biggest strategic mistakes made by the United States and the European Union.
Since the Ukrainian conflict escalated in April 2014, the European Union, the United States and their allies have imposed a number of economic sanctions against Moscow, blaming it for interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, and called the sanctions counterproductive.
After the West imposed sanctions against Russia, Moscow boosted cooperation with Asian and Latin American countries, including members of BRICS.