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MOSCOW: Russia on Friday said that it would impose retaliatory sanctions on Western nations on the basis of reciprocity.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said sanctions would cause problems for Russia but they would be solvable, as it had reduced its dependence on foreign imports.
He avoid answering a question about how long Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the sanctions, would last and said questions about Ukrainian civilian deaths should be referred to the military.
US President Joe Biden hit Russia with a wave of sanctions on Thursday after Moscow invaded Ukraine, measures that impede Russia’s ability to do business in major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises.
The sanctions are aimed at limiting Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen. Among the targets were five major banks, including state-backed Sberbank and VTB, as well as members of the Russian elite and their families. Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, will no longer be able to transfer money with the assistance of U.S. banks.
The White House also announced export restrictions aimed at curbing Russia’s access to everything from commercial electronics and computers to semiconductors and aircraft parts.