MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Prospective US Congress sanctions against Russia will not dramatically hamper the country's GDP and economic position, Russian upper house of parliament speaker Valentina Matvienko said Monday.
"[Sanctions] will not affect the pace of Russia's economic development," Federation Council chair Matvienko said at a briefing.
She noted that European Union member states view negatively "Washington's evident desire to oust Russian energy suppliers from the European market."
"I hope these sanctions will be balanced, if they happen at all," Matvienko said, adding that "there are no grounds for them."
