MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2019) New US sanctions imposed on Russia right after US State Secretary Mike Pompeo's visit to Russia is a counterproductive step that hampers efforts to pull bilateral relations out of deadlock, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday in a statement.
The US Treasury Department announced that it had imposed sanctions on Terek Special Rapid Response Team along with five individuals, including three Russians, on Thursday. Washington cited the so-called Magnitsky Act allowing it to impose restrictions on individuals and entities whom it considers to be human rights abusers.
"Just two days after the US Secretary of state's visit to Russia, Washington took a new hostile step. It seems to be in a hurry to negate the positive tone of the negotiations and to prove to itself its own anti-Russian charge. This is a deeply flawed and counterproductive line that does not allow us to break the deadlock in bilateral relations ... Of course, we will not leave this attack against Russian citizens unanswered," the statement reads.
