Russian Foreign Ministry accuses US of disrupting payment of Russian contribution to ICRC budget

US actions have disrupted Russia's voluntary contribution to the budget of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A statement to this effect was published on Thursday, December 26, on the website of the diplomatic ministry.

"As a result of unilateral coercive measures against Gazprombank imposed by the US Treasury Department in November this year, the Russian Federation has faced obstacles in making payments to the budgets of a number of international organizations," the statement reads.

It is noted that Russia has been involved for many years in funding ICRC programs, including humanitarian aid to Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Donbass and the fight against pandemic, and this incident demonstrates the damage from sanctions not only Russia.

The first installment was disrupted in 2022 due to EU and Swiss sanctions. Just like this time, the funds were intended to help the people of Syria.

Earlier, on November 21, Gazprombank fell under US sanctions, an updated list of which was published on the website of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC, a division of the US Treasury Department responsible for sanctions enforcement), Gazeta.Ru noted.

Commenting on this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian Federation is working on retaliatory measures.