MOSCOW, September 18 (RIA Novosti) – The best response to the restrictive measures, imposed on Russia by Western countries is to strengthen trade and economic cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the organization’s Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev said on Thursday.
“The best response to sanctions is strengthening economic and trade cooperation. I think it will be that way. The process of replacing those goods, which are not available for import on the Russian market, surely, will now be the subject of talks between representatives of ministries and agencies, especially from the all across the economic bloc of the SCO governments,” Mezentsev told Russia 24 TV channel.
The European Union and the United States have been imposing sanctions on Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, the claim Moscow has repeatedly denied. The latest round of sanctions came into effect on September 12, targeting Russian defense companies, alongside the country’s largest banks, energy companies and certain individuals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that using sanctions as an instrument of foreign policy is not effective and never yields any results, warning that sanctions cause certain damage to those using the measure.
