Russian President Vladimir Putin
President Vladimir Putin has not yet ordered retaliatory sanctions against the United States because Washington has not yet introduced new restrictions on Moscow and it is unclear what those curbs will be, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The State Department announced new sanctions on Wednesday last week, blaming Moscow for the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in Britain in March, something Russia denies.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it is working on possible tit-for-tat retaliatory measures.
Asked about those possible Russian counter measures on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to say what they might be.
"There was an announcement of some new (U.S.) sanctions, there was information that a bundle (of sanctions) was being prepared or was already ready, but it hasn't yet been introduced and of course there's no clear information on what these restrictions will be," Peskov told reporters.
Russia will increase using ruble and other currencies like euro, rather than the U.S. dollar for trade, the country’s finance minister said on Sunday.In an interview to Rossiya 1 TV, Anton Siluanov described the US dollar a “risky tool” for payments in international trade.“We have significantly reduced our investment in the U.S. assets,” Russia Today reported Siluanov as saying. “In fact, the dollar, which is considered to be the international currency -- becomes a risky tool for payments,” he said.The statement came after Washington announced its plans to impose sanctions on Moscow over alleged poisoning of a Russian agent and his daughter on UK soil.Russia's Lavrov to discuss planned four-way Syria summit in AnkaraSergei and Yulia Skripal were poisoned by a nerve agent in March in the southern English city of Salisbury.The British government has blamed the incident on Russia, linking the nerve agent to a series of Russia-developed chemical weapons collectively known as Novichok.The Kremlin has rejected the allegations.The Skripals have since recovered from the alleged assassination attempt.
Russia to increase use of local currencies for trade
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Monday a four-way Syria summit "is planned in the upcoming future", with the leaders of Russia, France, Turkey and Germany attending. It said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Ankara on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the four-way meeting with his Turkish counterpart.Russia and Turkey, along with Iran are sponsoring the Astana peace talks, which focuses on a cease-fire and ending the civil war in Syria.YPG/PKK continues forced recruitment of youth in Manbij
Russia's Lavrov to discuss planned four-way Syria summit in Ankara