Moscow: The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, María Zajárova, stressed today that the nation will respond appropriately to each movement against it, in reference to the massive expulsion of diplomats from Western countries, Prensa Latina publishes.
“For each similar unfriendly act, we will respond accordingly,” the diplomat said Wednesday in statements to the Sputnik news agency.
She explained that each particular hostile action will be met with the “most effective response” from Moscow, corresponding to its impact.
The representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this type of measure by the West “de facto leads to putting bilateral relations in anabiosis.”
?There are, of course, formulations like breaking off relationships, lowering the level of relationships, but in understandable language, it is a deep freeze of relationships,? she clarified.
According to Zajárova, the sanctions, restrictions and illegal actions that the West is applying against Russia require attention and monitoring in terms of diplomatic and consular work.
Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24 until yesterday, Western countries have declared a total of 315 Russian diplomats persona non grata, all from Europe and the United States, the TASS news agency reported.
In recent weeks, the national authorities approved a group of economic and financial provisions to deal with the more than 6,300 foreign measures applied against the country.
According to the Castellum.AI database, since mid-February, more than 4,350 new restrictive measures have been activated in relation to Russia, in addition to more than 2,750 that were already in force.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and the countries of the European Union imposed new sanctions on Moscow in the wake of the military operation in Ukraine, targeting key sectors of trade, finance, energy, exports, aviation and space.
The restrictions included the partial disconnection of Russian banks from the Swift international payment system, the closure of airspace for its airlines, the paralysis of the Central Bank’s international reserves and the embargo on oil purchases by Washington.
They were also extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as other high-ranking officials and businessmen, affecting their properties, businesses and the ability to travel.