Russian FM: US sanction pressure on Moscow 'illusory'

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Attempts by the U.S. to pressure Moscow through sanctions are "illusory", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

Such moves "seriously" endanger American- Russian relations that are already experiencing a "difficult" period, Lavrov said during a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The telephone call was made two days after the U.S. Treasury expanded sanctions on Russia by designating or identifying a number of individuals and entities related to the conflict in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Russia is working on retaliatory measures against the new U.S. sanctions.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also announced on the same day that Russia canceled an upcoming meeting with State Department Undersecretary for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon.

Lavrov said during his telephone call with Tillerson, Russia was "forced" to postpone the high-level meeting that had been scheduled for June 23 and that Moscow awaits Washington's response to its earlier proposals for normalizing relations.