Medvedev: Resetting Russia-US Ties Impossible Unless Sanctions Removed

Local Editor

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said resetting relations with the US is "impossible" while Western sanctions remain in force, in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

In an interview with CNBC, Medvedev said the sanctions have "no doubt" damaged relations and undermined the "foundations of international relations," adding that Russia would, however, overcome the sanctions, which he believed would be lifted in the near future.

Medvedev also criticized US President Barack Obama's recent speech before the United Nations General Assembly, in which he labeled Moscow as a key threat.

"It's sad to hear President Obama say in an address at the UN that the threats and challenges facing humanity are, in this particular order: the Ebola virus, the Russian Federation, and only then the ISIL [so-called "Daesh"]," Medvedev said. "I don't want to dignify it with a response. It's sad. It's like some kind of mental aberration."

Medvedev's comment of Obama's mental state came in response to a question about whether it would be possible to "reset" the relationship between Washington and Moscow after a months-long standoff over Ukraine, during which the United States has sanctioned Russia's financial, defense, and oil and gas sectors.

Tensions between Russia and the West heightened after Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea joined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March this year [2014].

The US and the EU accuse Russia of destabilizing Ukraine and have slapped a number of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russia figures. Moscow, however, rejects the accusation and has imposed retaliatory punitive measures on European countries.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team