The United States is included in the list of countries unfriendly to the Russian Federation, which will be prohibited from hiring Russian citizens to work in a diplomatic mission. This was announced on Sunday, April 25, by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.
She recalled that the corresponding decree was published the day before by Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the document, measures will be taken to implement the current federal laws banning the admission of Russians to the diplomatic service to unfriendly states.
Zakharova stressed that the list of states is currently under development.
“As we understand, the whole story began with another round of unfriendly actions by the United States. As you understand and how can I confirm this, of course, the United States is on the list, ”she said on the Russia 1 TV channel.
According to Zakharova, the decree of the Russian leader is a response to hostile actions on the part of other countries. At the same time, Moscow, as the representative of the department emphasized, has always pointed to the “peaceful nature” of foreign policy.
At the same time, Russia will react to hostile actions, and the described measures can be called defensive, Zakharova added.
“This is the protection of our country from hostile unfriendly actions on the part of those whom we do not give rest, those who, in different ways – through a policy of containment, through attempts at isolation – are trying to stop our development in one way or another,” she concluded.
On April 23, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on measures to influence unfriendly actions of other countries. The document is aimed at protecting the interests and security of Russia.
The US announced the introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions on April 15. 32 legal entities and individuals from Russia fell under the restrictions. The sanctions also provide for a ban from June 14, 2021, for US investors to purchase on the primary market Russian debt securities issued by the Central Bank, the National Wealth Fund or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. In addition, Washington will expel 10 Russian diplomats.
The United States accuses Russia of using a number of vulnerabilities for attacks in cyberspace, as well as allegedly interfering with the Russian Federation in the 2020 US elections.
Moscow denied the accusations and retaliated against US sanctions, including announcing the expulsion of 10 American diplomats. In addition, US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, and later he left for Washington.
The New York Times reported that the US authorities intend to carry out several “covert counterattacks” against the Russian government systems within three weeks.
On April 19, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced an increase in the frequency of cyberattacks on the information resources of the department. They noted that subnets of American, European and Asian hosting companies are involved in cybercrime actions.