Russia won't bow to Western sanctions: Kremlin

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia will not change its position in the face of Western sanctions over its war with Ukraine, the Kremlin declared on Tuesday.

"They (Western countries) probably think that by imposing sanctions, they can force us to change our position. It is obvious here that this is out of the question. None of us will change our consistent position," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a daily press conference in Moscow.

Peskov said the sanctions were not achieving their goals because Russia's leadership does not have assets in the West.

"If they want to punish us for something, there's nothing we can do here. Punish (us). We have no assets in the West, no accounts in the West."

Underlining that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could prevent further casualties by giving the order to lay down arms, Peskov noted that Moskow still recognized Zelenskyy as Ukraine's president.

"The president can give the command to lay down arms, and then there will be no casualties," said the official.

Since last Thursday -- days after Russian recognition of two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine -- Russia's war on Ukraine has been met by an outcry from the international community, with the EU, UK, and the US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia has been further isolated after its planes have been barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks have been kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.