By Diyar Guldogan
ANKARA
Russia is working on retaliatory measures against the newly imposed sanctions by the U.S., a Kremlin spokesman said Wednesday.
"Of course, the main principle of response to the sanctions is the principle of reciprocity, so that’s quite understandable and clear," Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia's official TASS news agency.
Peskov told reporters that countermeasures are now being worked out and formulated at the experts’ level.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday reinforced existing sanctions on Russia by designating or identifying a range of individuals and entities involved in the ongoing conflict under four executive orders related to Russia and Ukraine.
"U.S. sanctions on Russia related to the situation in eastern Ukraine will remain in place until Russia fully honors its obligations under the Minsk Agreements. U.S. sanctions related to Crimea will not be lifted until Russia ends its occupation of the peninsula," the OFAC said in a statement.
'Missing an opportunity'
The Russian Foreign Ministry blasted the sanctions as a "political gift" to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
"Sanctions were introduced under the old pretext of events in Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.
It said Washington's desire to continue dialogue with Moscow and address a number of bilateral and international problems are "quite unconvincing".
The U.S., for its part, criticized Russia turning away from an opportunity to discuss bilateral obstacles that hinder bilateral relations.
"Let's remember that these sanctions did not just come out of nowhere. Our targeted sanctions were imposed in response to Russia's ongoing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbor, Ukraine," the State Department said on its Twitter account.
It added that the sanctions will remain until Russia "fully honors" its obligations under the Minsk Agreements and Moscow ends Crimea's occupation.
"We remain open to future discussions," it added.
Wracked by conflict
Ukraine has been wracked by conflict since March 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea after an illegal independence vote.
This followed violent anti-government protests which led to the overthrow of then-President Victor Yanukovich.
The UN General Assembly later voted to proclaim the Russian annexation illegal.
Along with many UN countries, the U.S., the EU, and Turkey also do not recognize Crimea as Russian territory.
