MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Union has imposed sanctions against Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis along with the United States and other Western nations. A number of experts and lawmakers have pointed out that the European Union introduced the measures under pressure from Washington.
Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the internal conflict in eastern Ukraine, saying that the Western sanctions approach is counterproductive.
"Overall, it’s true that Russia’s trade relations with the EU and economic cooperation in general are being tested for resilience. The 38 percent decline in trade between Russia and the European Union in the first five months of 2015 speaks for itself," Medvedev said in an interview with Slovenian newspaper Delo on the eve of his visit to Slovenia.
The sanctions were extended in June 2015 for an additional six months.
In response to the prolongation, Moscow decided to extend the one-year food import ban it introduced in August 2014 against the countries that targeted it with economic restrictions.
"Both parties are clearly suffering…You probably understand all too well that sanctions produced a boomerang effect for those who imposed them. Today, European businesses are increasingly preoccupied with the losses their countries are incurring due to the restrictions against Russia. These losses could be in the tens of billions of euros, economists say."
Anti-Russia Sanctions Inertia Could Persist in US
Russia suspects that the disinclination to lift anti-Russian sanctions may endure in the United States for a long time, country's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev added.
"It is possible that the inertia of sanctions may last in the United States for a long time. It is enough to recall the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which lasted 40 years and turned from an economic into a political lever. We’ll take this into account in elaborating our trade and economic policy and, if need be, adequately respond to new unfriendly actions."
Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 aimed to affect US trade relations with countries having non-market economies and restricting human rights such as freedom of emigration.
"I still hope that the United States will resume its pragmatic positions. This has happened more than once in the past."
