US sanctions bar any possibility of dialogue – Russian ambassador

US attempts to hamper the development of the Russian economy through sanctions are increasingly damaging bilateral relations and making respectful dialogue between Washington and Moscow virtually impossible, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov has said.

His remarks followed Washington’s announcement on Friday that it is considering further sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Under an executive order signed by US President Joe Biden, financial institutions “around the world” that help Russia evade sanctions will be held accountable. The sanctions also ban imports of Russian seafood, even if processed in third countries.

Washington’s “sanctions fantasies” are damaging relations between the two countries, Antonov said. “Basically, they cross out any possibility of restoring mutually respectful dialogue between the great powers,” even for the few topics in which they could still share similar positions, he argued.

Antonov added that the White House is “once again trying to… inflict strategic defeat on Russia,” noting that the restrictions constantly generated by Washington are “futile attempts to put sticks in the wheels” of Russia’s economic development.

The fact that most of the new sanctions target organizations in third countries shows “a clear desire to intimidate our partners” and encourage them to cut mutually beneficial ties with Moscow “under the fanfare of geopolitical slogans,” according to Antonov. He went on to say that Washington “does not seem to realize” that “with such reckless actions, it contributes to the fragmentation of the world economy” and “undermines the status of the dollar jurisdiction.”

Washington began imposing sanctions on Moscow in March 2014, following Crimea’s accession to Russia. With the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the US and other Western states have increased the sanctions pressure on Moscow.

So far, the total number of sanctions on Russia has reached 18,000, with more than 16,000 imposed since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022. Compared to Iran, this is almost four times more, and eight times more compared to North Korea.

The country that has imposed the most sanctions on Russia is the US, with over 4,500 since 2014. Canada is second with over 3,000, and Switzerland, which has deviated from its traditional neutrality, is third with almost 2,500, according to the Castellum.AI database.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Western leaders should “stop playing the fool and waiting for us to collapse,” arguing that their countries have a choice between continuing to follow the “ephemeral considerations” that drive them to seek Russia’s destruction, and the interests of their own nations, which require cooperation on “a new foundation of a multipolar world.”

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