Russia Prepared for ‘Worst Scenario’ With Possible US Sanctions

The US is reportedly preparing new sanctions against Russia

On Thursday, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was prepared for the “worst scenario” when it comes to new US sanctions on Russia.

“The hostility and unpredictability of America’s actions force us in general to be prepared for the worst scenarios,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The comments come after a report from Bloomberg said the Biden administration was wrapping up a review of alleged Russian actions and is expected to announce new measures against Moscow soon.

The Biden administration has already slapped sanctions on Russian officials over the treatment of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and has been threatening more.

Also on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed the US’s approach to Moscow. He mentioned an article recently written by fellows at the NATO-funded Atlantic Council that called for a new approach to Russia, which other employees at the think tank disavowed.

“Even a pro-Washington NGO like the Atlantic Council has published material criticizing the United States’ dead-end policy toward Russia, which yields no results in terms of the goals that were announced when these sanctions were imposed,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov also responded to the recent reports that said the US was mulling new sanctions. “We will respond to any unfriendly steps, that goes without saying. I haven’t seen any specific decisions so far, nothing has been announced,” he said.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.