TASS – August 7, 2017: Moscow will step up activities aimed at promoting import substitution and reducing the country’s dependence on the US dollar, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Mezhdunarodnaya Zhizn (or International Life) magazine, published on Monday (August 7).
The Russian diplomat also said that the new US sanctions law was aimed “if not at taking the whole world hostage, then at least at scaring it.” (i.e. to panic) Ryabkov added that the sanctions law contained a significant number of measures empowering the US Department of the Treasury with special authority to impose new sanctions. “They expect foreign businessmen to get scared and make their choices,” the diplomat said “In fact, the main goal of the policy that Russia’s US opponents have adopted is to continue drawing dividing lines.”
“We see these games through,” Ryabkov stressed. “It is important for us to create functional economic mechanisms in order to reduce our dependence on the US monetary and financial system and the dollar,” he added.
“I am not an economist, I don’t represent any companies, and I don’t know how much money our banks have, but as a Foreign Ministry official I can feel it. Otherwise we will remain hooked forever. That is what they need,” the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister concluded. Link: Read Complete Article
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