Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko announced a response to the 18th package of EU sanctions

Russia will respond to the new EU sanctions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Izvestia.

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"We will have to see what sanctions they have come up with. We will respond to the sanctions as we have previously responded. With these sanctions, they very often shoot themselves in the foot, sometimes even higher. We are far from the practice of causing damage or sawing at the branch we are sitting on, but nevertheless, retaliatory measures, both protective and countermeasures, will be taken," he said.

At the end of last year, the diplomat said that the EU's losses from anti-Russian sanctions exceed € 1.5 trillion. Losses from restrictions, according to him, are only growing.

"They lose, they overpay for everything, they don't make a profit. This has a serious impact on the EU economy. And the figures published by Eurostat indicate that the recession continues. In some countries, there is a slowdown, in some the economy is going into negative territory. In some cases, the growth is comparable to a statistical error," he added.

On June 10, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the 18th package of EU sanctions would include a ban on the use of the blown-up Nord Streams, blacklisting banks and tankers, banning EU countries from buying Russian oil and an attempt to lower the price ceiling for it.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Counter act: Russia will respond to the 18th package of EU sanctions