MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Washington’s plans to slap new sanctions against Moscow point to the Biden administration’s stance in favor of confrontation. What’s more, this move would trigger tit-for-tat measures by Russia, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s (upper house of parliament) Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov told TASS.
Citing its sources, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that White House officials had completed an intelligence review of Russia’s alleged transgressions, setting the stage for Washington to announce retaliatory actions very soon. These potential moves could involve restrictive measures and the expulsion of Russian diplomats.
"If this happens, I think the Russian leadership will decide on retaliatory sanctions. Once our diplomats are expelled, I believe that nothing good could be in the future. Tit-for-tat measures are highly likely," Dzhabarov cautioned.
According to the senator, earlier there were cases when diplomats were expelled, and "this makes the already frozen relations even colder." "It should take several months until the ties become more or less stable. Since we don’t have any relations right now, I think that no one will even notice how many employees are working in our embassy. But the Americans should also get a response," the lawmaker stressed.
Meanwhile, he recommended waiting until the US authorities issue an official decision. "But if this is really the case, then this shows that the word "constructiveness" in our relations is nothing but a fantasy. The Americans haven’t been constructive for a long time. They reject any attempts at patching up any contacts. This signals that they are bent on confrontation," Dzhabarov noted.
The Russian legislator doubted that the Americans could back up their claims with any proof. He also went on to castigate all the accusations against Russia as being totally unfounded. "They will refer to intelligence data and clandestine analytical reports. Most likely, these will be allegations again," he emphasized.