Threat Of Sanctions To Global Economy To Be Discussed At APEC Summit - Russian Official

Fakhir Rizvi Published November 16, 2018 | 05:05 PM

Unfair sanctions that affect ordinary citizens and may ultimately erode the foundations of the global economy will be discussed at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, First Deputy Chief of the Russian Government Staff Sergei Prikhodko said on Friday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th November, 2018) Unfair sanctions that affect ordinary citizens and may ultimately erode the foundations of the global economy will be discussed at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, First Deputy Chief of the Russian Government Staff Sergei Prikhodko said on Friday.

The APEC summit will be held from Saturday until Sunday in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. The Russian delegation at the event will be led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"They [sanctions] are unfair, they affect ordinary people, employees of enterprises which, at someone's whim, have become subject to restrictions, lead to losses for businesses. Ultimately, sanctions are fraught with imbalance, and the erosion of the foundations of the world economy. In this vein, we intend to touch upon the sanctions at the APEC summit," Prikhodko told reporters.

He noted that the political agenda was closely linked to economic interests, and it is clearly proved by the practice of unilateral economic restrictions.

"The use of illegitimate restrictions is dictated mainly by political motives � the desire to punish those states that conduct an independent foreign policy. Plus, the experience of recent years shows that sanctions often mask trade protectionism, the desire to monopolize market access," he explained.

Prikhodko recalled that Russia had always opposed unilateral measures of economic coercion.

The relations between Moscow and Western states deteriorated over situation in Ukraine and Crimea's reunification with Russia. The West imposed sanctions against Russia over its alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict. In turn, Moscow responded by imposing a trade embargo against EU countries. Since then, the Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the use of sanctions against the country is counterproductive and called for the normalization of relations.