Kremlin on Paris' Remarks on Total 'Financial War' Against Russia: Masks Have Been Removed

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Aggressive actions against Russia in the economic sphere have taken place before, but now "masks have been removed" and the measures have become ultra-concentrated, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on Paris' words about the beginning of a "financial war" against Moscow.

"Now these aggressive actions against our country are of such an ultra-concentrated nature. But these actions, in fact, have taken place before. It's just that they maybe weren't visible to the naked eye. But experts are perfectly aware of all discriminatory measures, measures involving unfair competition, and so on. That is, this all has happened before. It's just that now it's all concentrated, extremely concentrated. Well, as they say, the masks have been removed," Peskov told reporters.

The spokesman also noted that at the moment, consumers have been reacting hyper-emotionally to price increases, but this is just the first reaction.

Earlier in the day, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the European Union will wage a massive economic and financial war against Russia.

On 21 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and on 24 February Russia launched a military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. The Russian Defenсe Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and that the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. In turn, Western nations have increased sanctions pressure on Russia after it launched a military operation in Ukraine.