MOSCOW
Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has hinted that Russia could close its airspace in response to any new Western sanctions targeting Russia's key economic sectors.
Moscow will give asymmetrical response to sanctions and restrictions targeting its energy and finance sectors, Medvedev told Vedomosti daily.
He said Western airlines freely use Russian airspace for now, hinting that Moscow may consider closing its skies to Western carriers in response to possible sanctions.
Despite a cease-fire deal reached between Russia and Ukraine on September 5, NATO agreed to "deepen and broaden sanctions" against Russia in banking, energy and defense sectors, U.S. President Barack Obama said at a NATO summit in Wales on Friday.
The Russian premier said sanctions were threatening the global security system instead of contributing to efforts to find a solution to the Ukrainian conflict.
Ukraine launched military operations in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in mid-April to restore government control after pro-Russian separatists declared independence in the region.
The conflict began following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia in March.
The European Union agreed in late July to broaden the scope of economic sanctions against Moscow, targeting financial, energy and military sectors in particular, and including an embargo on Russia’s future sales of firearms, as well as limits on trade of technology in mining, engineering and oil production.
Previous EU sanctions only targeted Ukrainian and Russian individuals -- presumed to be involved in the conflict in the east of the country -- with freezes on assets and bank accounts.
www.aa.com.tr/en/politics
