Russia to Prepare Response to Recent US, Canada Sanctions: Foreign Ministry

Moscow will prepare response measures to sanctions imposed against Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman said.

MOSCOW, December 20 (Sputnik) – The United States and Canada should carefully consider the consequences of sanctions they had imposed against Russia over Ukraine crisis, Moscow will prepare response measures, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement Saturday.

“We recommend Washington and Ottawa to consider consequences of such actions. We will be preparing response measures,” Alexander Lukashevich said, adding that US and Canadian sanctions showed the West was not interested in Ukrainian conflict settlement.

The spokesman said that the recent package of sanctions imposed by the United States and Canada against Russia undermined political process and peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

On Thursday, the US President Barack Obama signed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, giving him the power to impose further sanctions against Russia. After the document was signed, Moscow stated that the prospects of US-Russian bilateral relations would be undermined for a long time in case new US sanctions were approved, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart John Kerry.

On Friday, US President Barack Obama issued an executive order, imposing investment and trade restrictions on Crimea and introducing sanctions against certain Crimean individuals. The US order prohibits goods and technology imports and exports, as well as investment activities in Crimea.

The same day, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird announced the latest round of measures against Moscow, saying they include additional restrictions on the export of technology used in Russia’s oil and gas industry.

The measures imposed by Washington and Ottawa on Friday followed Thursday's announcement that the European Union had approved new sanctions banning EU-based firms from doing business with Crimean companies, as well as other economic restrictions.

Following Crimea's reunification with Russia in March, the United States, the European Union and their allies introduced several rounds of sanctions over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. Russia has repeatedly denied the Western accusations and said that the sanctions run counter to the principles of international law.