Moscow’s reaction to US sanctions will be clear and painful, said the speaker of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matvienko.
«Sanctions are a double-edged sword», — said the Chairman of the upper house, adding that those who impose them against Russia, it will face serious consequences.
Almost 2 weeks have passed after the United States brought 24 Russian businessmen and politicians in the sanctions list. Hardest hit, the aluminum giant RUSAL, owned by the infamous Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. The Kremlin continues to insist that the sanctions are unlawful, and warns of retaliatory measures.
However, despite such harsh rhetoric Matvienko, several sources told Bloomberg that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not going to respond harshly to the sanctions and even instructed to soften anti-American rhetoric. The Russian leader hopes that the head of the White house Donald trump will be able to stop the deterioration of relations between the two countries. Many associate the lack of retaliatory sanctions by Russia with this decision.
In addition, the unexpected statement of the American leader that he will not rush with additional restrictions (for Russia’s support of the regime of Assad), and the argument of the representative of the White house with Nikki Haleyprobably also indicate likely de-escalate the conflict.
