MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) – The EU decision to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis has revealed that the West is determined to deepen its political conflict with Russia, a senior Russian lawmaker said Friday.
“The new EU sanctions indicate that a decision to deepen political conflict with Russia was made, even though the measures carry significant financial losses,” Alexei Pushkov, the head of Russia’s lower house Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in his Twitter microblog.
Earlier in the day, a new set of European sanctions against Russia came into force. The EU barred three major Russian oil companies (Rosneft, Transneft, Gazprom Neft) and three major defense companies (Oboronprom, United Aircraft Corporation and Uralvagonzavod) from seeking finance on European capital markets.
Brussels also added 24 individuals, including senior Russian lawmakers and the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic, to the list of individuals facing EU travel bans and asset freezes.