The White House announced sanctions against several Russian entities and expelled 10 Russian diplomats in response to alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election and cyberattacks on U.S. businesses and government agencies.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova warned the same day, Russia will “resolutely fight back” the United States “aggressive behavior.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said at a regular press conference that the responsibility for the deterioration of Russian-American relations lies entirely with the United States. The U.S. actions do not indicate a willingness to promote the normalization of Russian-American relations. Russia has repeatedly warned that U.S. hostilities against Russia could have consequences, including inflaming confrontation between the two sides. The U.S. should be aware of the cost of worsening bilateral relations. Russia will “resolutely fight back” against the “aggressive behavior” of the United States.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova: “The United States is unwilling to accept the objective fact that in this multipolar world, the United States no longer enjoys hegemony, but also look forward to imposing sanctions pressure, interference in Russia’s internal affairs, such hostile acts will be resolutely countered, (Russia) will inevitably fight back against sanctions, the United States should realize that it must pay the price for the deterioration of Russian-American relations.”
On the 15th, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan to make a related statement. The statement said Russia considers the U.S. actions unacceptable, runs counter to the U.S. declaration of a “pragmatic relationship with Russia” and has dealt a new serious blow to bilateral relations. The statement said the U.S. ambassador to Russia has been told that Russia will take a series of responses to U.S. sanctions as soon as possible. Russia has long shown great responsibility for maintaining Russian-American relations at an acceptable level. However, successive U.S. administrations have ignored Russia’s constructive proposals, exacerbating the situation.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier in the day that Russia’s response to U.S. sanctions has not changed and that Russia will adopt the principle of reciprocity.
Relations between Russia and the United States have been strained recently. Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States in March to discuss the future of Russian-American relations after U.S. President Joe Biden made critical remarks involving Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. government has recently frequently expressed concern about Russia’s build-up of troops on Russia’s border with Ukraine and called on Russia to ease tensions. Russia responded that the troops, which are aimed at securing Russia’s borders, had been used by some Western countries as an “excuse” to identify Russia as contributing to the warming of the situation in eastern Ukraine.
