Photo from mosvedi.ru
The sanctions imposed by the West on Russia continue to have a significant impact on its economy, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Marie Harf said at a briefing on Thursday, according to Ukrainian online news portal Gordon.
According to Harf, the Russian economy is definitely suffering from sanctions imposed in connection with the crisis in Ukraine.
"The longer the sanctions act, the stronger their impact will be," she said.
"For this reason the sanctions remain in force," Harf said.
"If additional sanctions are required at some stage, we will introduce them," she added.
"The U.S. authorities are ready to tighten sanctions against Russia in the case of its non-compliance with its obligations under the Minsk agreements," U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt told journalists in Kyiv on Thursday.
As reported earlier, on April 16 Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the annual TV program "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" that sanctions against Russia were purely political and were used by the West to restrain the country’s development.
The sanctions were actually put in place in response to Russia’s invasion and illegal annexation of Crimea in March last year.