Russia called its ambassador in Washington for consultations and promised to respond to the new US sanctions.
The Kremlin’s Foreign Ministry warned that it would be “inevitable” for Vladimir Putin’s government to react to the measures announced this Thursday by the White House.
On Thursday, Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said that the response to the new US sanctions was “necessary” and that the ministry had summoned John Sullivan, US Ambassador to Moscow.
He said in a televised remark that the United States was not prepared to accept the objective fact that there is a multifaceted world that does not exclude American domination. The response to sanctions is inevitable.
On Thursday, the United States announced sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of 10 diplomats in retaliation for what Washington says is US electoral interference by the Kremlin, a massive cyberattack, and other hostile activities.
President Joe Biden ordered an extension of restrictions on US banks dealing with Russian government debt, expelled ten diplomats including suspected spies, and sanctioned 32 people who allegedly tried to meddle in the 2020 presidential election, the House said. White.
The US decision came the same week that Biden offered to meet with President Vladimir Putin for his first face-to-face talks, suggesting that the summit could take place in a third country.
The Kremlin initially responded positively to the idea but said on Thursday that the sanctions would not “help.”
The latest tension comes against a background of anger in Washington over meddling in the Russian elections and concerns in both the United States and its European allies over the recent accumulation of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.
The imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, who is effectively the latest politician openly opposed to Putin, has further raised concerns in the West.
NATO support
The White House statement first noted Moscow’s efforts to undermine “free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions” in the United States and its allies and partners.
It cited allegations that Russian intelligence agencies carried out permanent misinformation campaigns and malicious maneuvers during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections to win Donald Trump’s candidacy.
The White House said the sanctions “respond to misguided cyber-activities against the United States and its allies and partners, the so-called large-scale SolarWinds hacking of US government computer systems last year.
The statement also drew attention to Russia’s extraterritorial “attacks” on dissidents and journalists and weakening security in countries important to US national security.
In addition, the Treasury Department approved eight individuals and entities associated with the Russian occupation of Crimea in Ukraine, along with the European Union, Australia, Great Britain, and Canada.
In Brussels, the NATO military alliance said that after the announcement of measures on April 15 in response to Russia’s destabilizing activities, US allies “expressed solidarity and support with the United States.
NATO members presented a “permanent pattern” of Russian hostility.
They said We urge Russia to immediately end its destabilizing behavior and comply with its international obligations,