Sanctions that the western nations have been continuously imposing against Russia since the start of its military operation in Ukraine only further erode the existing system of international institutions and the authority of the UN, Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, has said in a Telegram post on Friday.
Initially, the word ‘sanctions’ has only been applicable to measures imposed by the UN Security Council, he has argued, adding that everything the western nations call “sanctions” today is nothing but some unilateral restrictions as cannot be seen as “sanctions” under the international law.
“This is nothing but infringement on the Russian Federation’s sovereign rights committed by certain nations and blocs,” he has said, slamming the western sanctions as “illegal.” The “unprecedented scale” of the western restrictions against Moscow would only lead to the “collapse of all international institutions and primarily the UN,” Medvedev, who is currently the deputy head of the Russian security council, has warned.