Further US sanctions would be ’declaration of economic war’: Medvedev MOSCOW - Agence France Presse Russia warned Friday that if the US followed through with threats to impose further harsh economic sanctions it would be seen as a "declaration of economic war". The warning by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev came after Washington unveiled a raft of new sanctions against Russia over its alleged use of the Novichok nerve agent against a former double agent which Britain has blamed on Moscow. The incident, which took place in a city in southern England in March, triggered a major diplomatic crisis despite Russia’s denial of any role. The announcement of the sanctions prompted Russian stocks and the ruble to tumble on Thursday. "While I don’t want to comment on the talk about future sanctions, I can say that if we end up with something like a ban on banking activities or the use of certain currencies, we can clearly call this a declaration of economic war," Medvedev was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. "And we must absolutely respond to this war. By economic means, by political means and if necessary by other means," he added. "Our American friends must understand this." Announced late on Wednesday, the first set of sanctions, which will take effect in just under two weeks, impose a ban on the export to Russia of "national security sensitive" US technologies. Until now such exports had been previously allowed on a case-by-case basis, with a senior State Department official saying the move could cut off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exports to Russia. A second round of sanctions that could go into effect 90 days later would cut far deeper, including blocking all American bank loans to Russian entities, an outright ban on US exports to Russia, and suspension of diplomatic relations. The State Department said the sanctions were aimed at punishing Moscow for having "used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law", mandated under the Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991. However the sanctions announcement could bolster US President Donald Trump’s claim that his administration is taking a tough stance on Moscow, even as he continues to denounce as a "witch hunt" an independent probe whether his election campaign colluded with Russia. According to the 1991 Act, the president shall tighten the penalties within 90 days -- unless the party in question provides "reliable assurances" that it no longer engages in such activities, and allows on-site inspections by United Nations observers. Russia had on Thursday responded furiously to the sanctions, denouncing them as "categorically unacceptable" as the markets tumbled and the ruble fell to its lowest level in almost two years. On Wednesday, Russia’s Kommersant daily published excerpts from another piece of draft US legislation which proposes a ban on US citizens purchasing Russian sovereign debt as well as steps against the country’s biggest banks as well as its oil and gas sector, a key driver of the economy. The sanctions follow the US Treasury’s imposition of sanctions in March against 19 Russian citizens and five entities for interfering in the 2016 US election -- the toughest steps against Moscow since Trump took office. Also in March, Washington ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats, and the closure of Russia’s consulate general in Seattle over the Novichok incident. The Russian economy has only recently started to recover from international sanctions imposed on Moscow in 2014 over its actions in Ukraine and a crash in oil prices the same year.<doc-sep>Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev reportedly warned the U.S. on Friday that sanctions it plans to impose against Moscow over the nerve-agent attack of a former spy living in Britain could be treated as a declaration of an economic war. Speaking during a trip to the Kamchatka region of Russia, Reuters reported Medvedev as saying: "I would not like to comment on talks about future sanctions, but I can say one thing: If some ban on banks' operations or on their use of one or another currency follows, it would be possible to clearly call it a declaration of economic war." "And it would be necessary, it would be needed to react to this war economically, politically, or, if needed, by other means. And our American friends need to understand this," he added. President Donald Trump's administration said Wednesday it plans to punish Russia with sanctions for poisoning Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal with a chemical weapon earlier this year. In a statement, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the sanctions will go into effect around August 22. Skripal, a former Russian spy who became a double agent for the U.K., fell into critical condition after being poisoned in Britain on March 4. His daughter Yulia, who was visiting him from Moscow, was also poisoned.<doc-sep>Russia's prime minister on Friday warned the United States against imposing new sanctions on Russia and said the Kremlin would view any ban on banking or the use of the dollar by Moscow as a "declaration of economic war" that would provoke a strong retaliation. The comments came as Russian President Vladimir Putin and the permanent members of the National Security Council discussed new possible U.S. sanctions against Moscow, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the government-owned Tass news agency. Peskov said the council discussed the "new unfriendly steps on the part of Washington, which may take the form of trade restrictions." The meeting’s participants "emphasized the complete illegitimacy of such actions from the standpoint of international law," Peskov added. The State Department said Wednesday that new sanctions would be imposed later this month following Washington's determination that Moscow had used the Novichok nerve agent to poison ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the British city of Salisbury. Russia has strongly denied involvement in the poisoning. According to the State Department, those sanctions will include the presumed denial of export licenses for Russia to purchase many items with national security implications. The announcement of new U.S. sanctions has rattled Russian currency and stock markets, sending the ruble plummeting to its lowest level since August 2016 in early trading Friday. Some additional sanctions proposed in Congress include legislation targeting Russia’s state-controlled banks and freezing their operations in dollars. Such ramped-up economic measures, if adopted, would have a major impact on the Russian economy, as reflected by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's sharp reaction. "I would like not to comment on the talks about future sanctions, but there is one thing I can say: If measures like a ban on banking activities or the use of this or that currency follows, this can clearly be described as a declaration of an economic war," the prime minister said Friday. "And this war will have to be responded – by economic, political and, if necessary, other means. And our American partners should realize this." Medvedev said that while the U.S. said the sanctions are intended to punish Russia’s “bad” behavior, their goal is to sideline a rival. “It’s intended to remove Russia as a strong competitor on the international arena,” he said. Contributing: The Associated Press<doc-sep>
Russia says it would consider any US move to curb the operations of Russian banks or their foreign currency dealings a declaration of economic war. The US announced a new round of sanctions on Wednesday targeting Russia that pushed the ruble to two-year lows and sparked a wider sell-off over fears Russia was locked in a spiral of never-ending sanctions. "It would be needed to react to this war economically, politically, or, if needed, by other means," Russia's prime minister said. "And our American friends need to understand this." MOSCOW — Russia would consider any US move to curb the operations of Russian banks or their foreign currency dealings a declaration of economic war, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday. The US on Wednesday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia that pushed the ruble to two-year lows and sparked a wider sell-off over fears Russia was locked in a spiral of never-ending sanctions. Separate legislation introduced last week in draft form by Republican and Democratic senators proposes curbs on the operations of several state-owned Russian banks in the US and restrictions on their use of the dollar. Medvedev said Moscow would take economic, political, or other retaliatory measures against the US if Washington targeted Russian banks. "I would not like to comment on talks about future sanctions, but I can say one thing: If some ban on banks' operations or on their use of one or another currency follows, it would be possible to clearly call it a declaration of economic war," Medvedev said. "And it would be necessary, it would be needed to react to this war economically, politically, or, if needed, by other means. And our American friends need to understand this," he said, speaking on a trip to the Russian Far East. The fate of the bill he was referring to is not certain. The full US Congress will not be back in Washington until September, and even then congressional aides said they did not expect the measure would pass in its entirety. While it was difficult to assess so far in advance, they said it was more likely that only some of its provisions would be included as amendments in another piece of legislation, such as a spending bill Congress must pass before September 30 to prevent a government shutdown.