Kremlin: Russia sanctions are 'bandit-like restrictions'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the sanctions against Russia “bandit-like restrictions”. He said this in an interview with RTV1 television channel.
“Crisis always tempers you and makes you stronger,” Mr. Peskov remarked, adding that Russia had learned to live in such conditions.
In late March, Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Nicaragua, Venezuela and North Korea called for the lifting of sanctions to combat the coronavirus epidemic. The UN General Assembly refused to adopt a draft resolution.
UN General Assembly blocks Russian resolutionon lifting sanctions.
The European Union countries, as well as the United States and Ukraine, first introduced economic sanctions against Moscow in 2014. This happened after Crimea became a subject of Russia by referendum.
The peninsula's accession to Russia was considered illegal by them, but Moscow denies these allegations. Sanctions were then imposed in 2015 over the conflict in Donbass. Moscow responded by imposing a ban on food imports from countries that supported the sanctions.