Moscow may regard more US sanctions as economic war

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Russia may consider it an economic war if the US imposes economic sanctions, Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday, the TASS News Agency reported.

The US on Wednesday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia that pushed the rouble to two-year lows and sparked a wider sell-off over fears Russia was locked in a spiral of never-ending sanctions.

Separate legislation introduced last week in draft form by Republican and Democratic senators proposes curbs on the operations of several state-owned Russian banks in the US and restrictions on their use of the dollar.

Medvedev said Moscow would take economic, political or other retaliatory measures against the US if Washington targeted Russian banks.

"I would not like to comment on talks about future sanctions, but I can say one thing: if some ban on banks' operations or on the use of one or another currency follows, it would be possible to clearly call it a declaration of economic war," Medvedev said.

"And it would be necessary, it would be needed to react to this war economically, politically, or, if needed, by other means. And our American friends need to understand this," he added.

Source(s): Reuters