The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on some Russian officials and energy firms for supplying turbines to annexed Crimea, AFP reported.
The turbines, built by German engineering firm Siemens, were to be delivered to Russia. But, Siemens’ Russian partner reportedly sent them to Crimea, which Russia had seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014. This Russian claim has not been recognised by the United Nations or most of the world.
Russian Deputy Energy Minister Andrey Cherezov and officials from Russian engineering company Technopromexport and oil producer Surgutneftegaz’s subsidiaries were among the 21 people and nine firms added to the United States’ blacklist, Reuters reported.
The sanctions come just days before the United States was expected to lay out the possibilities for condemning Russia for allegedly meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.
“The absurd sanctions campaign has not succeeded and will not lead to any results,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry told AFP. “If the American authorities prefer to break economic ties...with Russia, it is their right, as it is ours to reserve the right to a response.”
The new sanctions were imposed “under the pretext of inventing Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian crisis”, and the US is merely “showing the whole world its own powerlessness”, the statement said. “Washington cannot shed the illusion that it is possible to scare us by refusing US visas or by trade bans.”
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