Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said the sanctions that the United States can possibly impose on the Russian government debt will harm Washington itself.
"This is a bit like a shot in the foot," he noted, explaining that because "many foreign investors are interested in Russia’s debt obligations, they will have revenues taken away from them."
According to him, the U.S. "simply cannot backtrack, whether it is effective or not."
Speaking about the possible responses, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister pointed to two possible ways, namely mirror counter measures or an asymmetric response. "Of course, these actions will not go unpunished," the diplomat pledged. "But this is not a task of attacking for the attack. The task is to adapt to these measures and look for ways around," he added.
"Each such step complicates life for us, but they are not deadly and we learn to work in certain new spheres with the adoption of each of them," TASS cited Pankin as saying.
On July 11, the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress passed an amendment to the 2020 fiscal year, envisaging sanctions against Russia’s sovereign debt over alleged election meddling.
