Russia to Respond to Canada’s Sanctions on Crimean Lawmakers

The Russian Foreign Ministry will consider measures against Canadian sanctions on 15 individuals, First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Foreign Ministry will consider countermeasures in response to sanctions imposed by Canada on 15 individuals, including six members of Russia’s State Duma who represent Crimea, First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov said on Tuesday.

"The Foreign Ministry will, perhaps, prepare some proposals on this issue," Zhukov told RIA Novosti adding that there would be certain countermeasures.

Earlier on Monday, the Canadian Foreign Ministry, Global Affairs Canada, announced the sanctions against 15 "separatist individuals," including Duma lawmakers Ruslan Balbek, Konstantin Bakharev, Andrey Kozenko, Svetlana Savchenko, Pavel Shperov and Dmitry Belik.

Russia's historical southern region of Crimea rejoined the country after a 2014 referendum. Almost 97 percent of the region's population voted for reunification in a referendum. Sevastopol, which has a federal city status, supported the move by 95.6 percent of votes.

The Western countries, including Canada, have not recognized the legitimacy of the vote, imposing several rounds of sanctions on Russia.