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Russia Takes Time to Consider US Sanctions

© RIA Novosti . Mikhail Klimentiev / Go to the mediabankRussian President Vlasdimir Putin
Russian President Vlasdimir Putin - Sputnik International
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said early on Thursday that the new US sanctions against the country’s individuals and business entities needed a careful look.

BRASILIA, July 17 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said early on Thursday that the new US sanctions against the country’s individuals and business entities needed a careful look.

“We need to have a look at those sanctions and assess them calmly and without making a fuss,” the Russian president said.

The US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday introduced a so-called Sectoral Sanctions Identification List that affects companies and institutions in defense, energy and banking sectors of the Russian economy.

Putin said the sanctions contradicted US national interests. “For instance, major companies that want to work in Russia will face certain hurdles [in accessing the Russian market] and lose their competitiveness against other energy companies,” the president explained.

Shorty after the sanctions were unveiled, US President Barack Obama made a statement where he said these measures were designed to bring no inconveniences to US companies and its allies.

"These sanctions are significant, but they are also targeted - designed to have the maximum impact on Russia while limiting any spillover effects on American companies or those of our allies," Obama vowed.

But Putin reminded about the existing agreement between Russia’s oil giant Rosneft and ExxonMobil that has granted the US-based energy corporation access to the Russian hydrocarbon reserves in the Arctic.

“So, don’t they want it [ExxonMobil] to work there? They are dealing damage to their biggest energy companies - and to what purpose?” Putin wondered speaking at a press conference on Thursday.

The Russian president said Washington's foreign policy over the past 10-15 years lacked in unprofessionalism.

“Those behind US’s recent political actions – and unfortunately this observation is true not only of the recent events but, let’s say, of the past 10 to 15 years – are pursuing a rather aggressive foreign policy, and a rather unprofessional one, too,” Putin said.

He warned that this new round of sanctions could end US-Russian ties. “They are bound to have a boomerang effect and, in this case, will undoubtedly lead Russian-American relations to a dead end and deal a very serious blow [to them],” Putin said after a BRICS summit in Brazil.

“I hope that common sense and the desire to settle these issues by diplomatic means will prevail,” the president stressed.

The United States and European Union accuse Russia of meddling with Ukraine’s internal affairs, imposing targeted sanctions against a number of Russian officials and companies. The Western sanctions have been gradually extending since the initial introduction after Russia’s reunification with Crimea.

The EU said it has a three-stage sanctions process. The third stage would constitute broad economic sanctions against entire sectors of the Russian economy.

The United States has considerably smaller trading volumes with Russia than Europe, which allows the Obama administration to lobby sanctions against the key sectors of Russian economy, while some EU member states that have close trading ties with Russia oppose the measures.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned the sanction “language," warning of the boomerang effect such limitations can have.

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