ST. PETERSBURG, May 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he would have taken Western countries to court if he had been targeted by recent sanctions.
“If I were in their shoes I would have sued a long time ago, because they have no relation to the events in Ukraine and Crimea,” Putin said.
The US and EU sanctions against Russia, imposed due to the situation around Ukraine and Crimea, have so far remained targeted and consist of government-approved lists of individuals and companies facing visa bans and asset freezes.
Western countries have threatened to introduce a new round of sanctions against whole sectors of the Russian economy if they conclude Moscow was interfering with the upcoming presidential vote in Ukraine scheduled for Sunday.
Moscow has called the sanctions "counterproductive."
