Russian Foreign Minister: 'Russia does not initiate retaliatory measures'

(Baonghean.vn) - Moscow has done everything in the most honest way to apply retaliatory measures against the European Union EU. Russia does not accept unfair competition from EU manufacturers, when Brussels decided to continue to prolong sanctions against Russia - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared.

"Lifting the bans on the West cannot depend only on Russia." Photo: Gazeta.

"We have imposed sanctions as a 'counter-attack' for a very simple reason. The EU sanctions restrict the ability of Russian banks to receive credit loans for agricultural investment. That is, farmers from EU countries, when entering the Russian market, will benefit from unfair competition. We will do everything to make everything honest and fair. It's that simple," the Foreign Minister emphasized.

According to him, Moscow did not "initiate" the retaliatory measures. But the lifting of the sanctions cannot depend solely on Russia.

He added that Russia has been focusing on developing domestic agriculture and industry, as this is necessary for industries to compete with the West. Many Russian businesses and companies have asked the government to continue applying these measures.

The ban on some Western food products is even beneficial to the Russian economy and should therefore be maintained “as long as possible”. Because it benefits Russian consumers with high-quality products at lower prices, and more domestic products on the market.

The Kremlin has imposed an embargo on EU agricultural products, food and raw materials after Brussels passed sanctions against Russia since 2014.

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(According to TASS)