Russia Not Intimidated By Recent EU Bans, Says Karasin

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister GrigoryKarasin says Moscow is not intimidated by the recent European Union sanctions, warning that the bans will only harm Russia’s relations with Europe.

In a meeting with EU envoy to Russia VygaudasUsackas on Friday, Karasin said the 28-nation bloc’s move to impose new sanctions on Moscow will prompt a retaliatory response.

“The Russian side stressed that EU sanctions against Russian individuals and entities are not scaring anyone. They only escalate the situation and lead it to a dead end,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry quoted Karasin as saying.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the Russian government had been forced to adopt restrictive measures to protect the country’s national security in the face of the Western sanctions.

“As we have repeatedly stated, it is not our choice, but we will not leave the escalation of sanctions (by the West) unanswered,” the statement said.

The United States, the European Union and their allies have introduced several rounds of targeted sanctions against Russian companies and individuals over the current crisis in east Ukraine following Crimea’s reunification with Russia. Crimea held a referendum in March to join Russia. Kiev and its western allies do not recognize the results of the referendum saying the peninsula belongs to Ukraine. Following the move, a few other regions in eastern Ukraine inhabited by pro-Russians, have called for joining Moscow.

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