Russia was not the initiator of the sanctions exchange, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
According to him, this counter-sanctions is a necessary measure.
"Every cloud has a silver lining, so there are certain advantages of import substitution for the development of national sectors of the economy. These are forced measures, indeed. Now we are exchanging decisions on sanctions which was not our initiative," TASS cited the Kremlin spokesman as saying.
Peskov also declined to comment on a recent analytical study on the losses Russians suffer due to Moscow’s counter-sanctions but stressed that the restrictions are a necessary measure.
