Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday that the latest round of US sanctions against Russian entities is illegitimate and discriminatory and does not contribute to normalizing bilateral relations
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday that the latest round of US sanctions against Russian entities is illegitimate and discriminatory and does not contribute to normalizing bilateral relations.
"This is another discriminatory step by Washington using sanctions as a key instrument to pursue its foreign policy goals," Antonov said. "Obviously, such a counterproductive approach does not contribute to the normalization of Russia-US relations."
Earlier on Tuesday, the State Department said the United States has applied penalties against three Russian and two Chinese companies for alleged violations of its restrictions on dealings with Iran, North Korea or Syria that may assist these countries in developing weapons of mass destruction or missile systems.
The sanctions activated on November 6 target Russia's Aviazapchast, Joint Stock Company Elecon and Nilco Group as well as China's Chengdu Best New Materials Co Ltd. and Zibo Elim Trade Company, Ltd. The US government is prohibited from any sales, procurements or assistance to these entities, their subsidiaries or successors for the duration of two years.
Antonov said the US unilateral actions seek to undermine the economic potential of Russia's companies and are illegitimate.
"Actions like that are illegitimate, because no country has a right to constrain Russian trade and investment relations with other members of the international community," Antonov said. "We call on our US partners to renounce the flawed practice of groundless accusations. We believe that political and diplomatic measures should be used instead of threats and blackmail."
