“The sanctions against Russia are spurious, crazy, unjustified,” Ferrari said.
According to Ferrari, outgoing US President Barack Obama and his administration will make an attempt to toughen sanctions against Russia before his term in the office expires and President-elect Donald Trump takes his place.
"My fear is that between now and January 20, the day of Donald Trump settlement, they [Obama and his Administration] will try to go for broke to even more toughen the sanctions against Russia, raising the tension in Syria and Ukraine,” Ferrari said.
In 2014, relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated significantly as the crisis in Ukraine escalated, with Crimea rejoining Russia and pro-independence eastern Ukrainian militias rising up against Kiev's rule.
The United States and its allies, accusing Moscow of fuelling tensions in eastern Ukraine, introduced a series of sanctions against Russia as a punitive measure.
Moscow refuted any involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and imposed a year-long food embargo on the countries that had sanctioned it, which was later prolonged as the sanctions were extended.
