Russia sends a good signal to other nations by rejecting attempts to force it to do things that are not in its interests through sanctions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin voiced this opinion in an interview published Monday in the Izvestia newspaper.
"We will not ask to remove these sanctions. We will simply continue to develop our economy and our ability to develop independently, relying on those friends and like-minded people that we have. <...> And Russia, by rejecting such diktat and attempts to force us to do things that are not in our interests at the expense of sanctions, sends a good signal to other nations. And I think this signal is visible and will be noticeable," he said when asked about the prospects of new sanctions against Russia.
Vershinin also pointed to attempts to break the common humanitarian, educational, cultural and sports space with Russia. "A political signal is being sent to show Russia's isolation. But my deep conviction is that cultural, sports and educational blockade of Russia is impossible," stressed the deputy foreign minister. - "At least because of the contribution we have made and will continue to make in the development of world culture and sport".
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbas republics. He stressed that Moscow's plans did not include occupation of Ukrainian territories; the goal was to demilitarize and denationalize the country. On February 28, the IOC recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions because of the situation around Russia and Ukraine.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS