New US sanctions not to damage Russian industry: Energy Minister

Moscow - The new expansion of sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States is unlikely to inflict damage on the Russia's domestic industry but will create more opportunities for its development, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Saturday.

"They (Russian companies) have been working in these conditions since 2014 and we see that the sanctions do not affect the work of our companie... Upon the results of 2017, we have achieved very good performance ratings, so the sanctions will give us additional opportunities for the growth of domestic industry," Novak was cited by Russian news agency as saying.

The US Treasury announced on Friday that it has added 21 individuals and nine entities related to Russia and Ukraine to its sanctions list.

On the other hand, Navok said that the sanctions are "illegal" and "regrettable."
"Such approaches, actions are a vestige. They do not create the opportunities for the development of the market, competitiveness and contradict World Trade Organization rules," he said.

In addition, practice indicates that companies based in countries that introduce sanctions only get losses and suffer themselves, which is contrary to their expectation, he added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said late Friday that the new sanctions is irrational and "senseless", and that Moscow reserves the right to respond.

Russia-US relations have been sour for some time, amid disagreements involving the war in Syria, the conflict in Ukraine and the Kremlin's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections, among others.