|
MOSCOW, Jan 26-- The new round of anti-Russia sanctions by the United States is irrational and "senseless," and Moscow reserves the right to respond, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. "Continuing efforts to exert pressure on our country, the U.S. imposed additional sanctions against a number of Russian citizens and companies under the far-fetched pretext of Russia's involvement in the Ukrainian crisis," the ministry said in a statement. Earlier on Friday, the U.S. administration added a total of 21 individuals and 21 entities to its anti-Russia sanction list, according to a notice posted by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of Treasury. Calling the new move part of Washington's "senseless sanctions campaign," the foreign ministry warned that the sanctions will bring no results but financial losses for the U.S. business. The ministry underlined that Moscow will not be frightened by denials of U.S. visas or trade bans and will defend its national interests. "If the U.S. authorities prefer to break economic and other ties with Russia, it is their right, as we reserve the right to respond," the statement said. Senior members of Russian parliament echoed the foreign ministry in saying that Moscow will certainly respond to the aggressive move taken by the U.S. "New U.S. sanctions are yet another destructive step exacerbating the situation in Russia-U.S. relations, obviously for the sake of ensuring its own geopolitical interests, unfair competition and advantages on world markets," said Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of Russian State Duma, or the lower house of the parliament. | 
