Moscow
has not initiated the sanctions, nor it is to lift them, Russia’s Foreign
Minister added.
MOSCOW,
February 5. /TASS/. Moscow, while introducing the tit-for-tat measures against
the European Union, did everything honestly, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said in an interview with Austria’s Profil weekly.
"We
announced sanctions as a response measure for a very evident reason," he
said. "The European sanctions limit opportunities for our banks to receive
loans for financing the agricultural sector, which could mean the EU
agricultural producers could benefit from the conditions of unfair competition."
"We
were to act honestly," he said. "That’s it."
Moscow has
not initiated the sanctions, nor it is to lift them, he added.
To the
objection about Russian response measures, Lavrov answered rhetorically:
"Do you want us to remain under the European sanctions, though lifting
ours?".
