"It is obvious that this short-sighted step by Washington will negatively affect bilateral contacts between our states, but it is not able to change the foreign policy of the Russian Federation and will not affect the credibility of our country on the world stage," Patrushev told reporters.
He stressed that the use of such “imaginary external threats” as Russia and China was an attempt by the US authorities to mask the difficult domestic situation.
"The course taken by the United States in regional and international affairs, which involves countering such imaginary external threats as Russia and China, is primarily intended to distract the attention of ordinary Americans from the complicated domestic situation in the United States, the accumulated social and economic problems, and the authorities' inability to effectively solve the tasks facing them, including because of inconsistencies between the actions of departments and agencies," Patrushev said.
READ MORE: Putin 'Sad' About Not Being Included in US 'Kremlin Report'
On Monday night, the US Treasury Department released its so-called "Kremlin report," which identifies potential targets for future anti-Russia sanctions. The list included 114 Russian politicians and 96 businessmen, and was compiled under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed by the US Congress last summer and enacted by President Donald Trump on August 2. It includes ten Russian ministers, such as Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov among other high-profile officials. Though the new report does not automatically impose new sanctions, it paves the way for more anti-Russian restrictions.
In his turn, Medvedev jokingly said that non-inclusion to the reports is a reason to quit the Russian government, stressing that almost everyone put into an administrative position by President Putin has been added to the report.
