Russia retaliates against ‘unfriendly states’

Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a package of economic measures on Tuesday to retaliate against international sanctions placed on Moscow.

The new decree seeks to protect Russia’s national interests, and was adopted “in connection with the unfriendly actions of the United States and its allies that violate international law and aim to illegally deprive the Russian Federation and Russian legal entities of their property,” the decree, published on the Kremlin’s website, states.

Putin gave the Cabinet of Ministers 10 days to determine the list of persons to be placed under the reciprocal sanctions.

The new measures prohibit government agencies, organizations, and individuals from “carrying out transactions (including signing external trade contracts) with legal entities, individuals, and organizations” on the new blacklist.

The decree also prohibits the export of products and raw materials if they are destined to sanctioned persons.

Russian entities and persons are also prohibited from fulfilling their obligations and carrying out financial transactions with the sanctioned companies and individuals.

READ MORE: EU threatens Russia with fresh SWIFT restrictions

This comes after the US and EU placed several rounds of unprecedented economic sanctions on Russia over its ongoing military operation in Ukraine. Assets of the Russian Central Bank and various other entities and businessmen were frozen abroad, the country was effectively cut off from the dollar and euro-dominated money markets, and a wide array of foreign businesses stopped dealing with the country.

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