The sanctions regime against Russia is enshrined in many legislative acts of Western countries and will stay in force for good, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Pankin said at the parliamentary hearings in the State Duma.
"The sanctions regime has always existed, and it will remain forever, let's be realistic. Sanctions have already been embodied in many legislative acts, American and other states, and it will be impossible to turn it back," he said.
"All of them are illegitimate, all of them were introduced under highly shaky pretexts, without any evidence base, but it is impossible to turn back the facts that have already been implemented," Pankin added.
The deputy foreign minister stressed that Russia would not ask anyone to lift the sanctions, nor will it "repent for what we are not doing."
"Clearly, we will not give Crimea back. As long as Crimea is part of Russia, the sanctions will definitely always be with us, similarly to the sanctions against the Baltic states until they separated and became three separate states. This is a tough thought, but one has to be realistic," he said.
The diplomat added that Russia would still be trying to translate its ideas to the West in an effort to make the West believe that the policy of sanctions is disadvantageous.
"The sanctions will have to be lifted by those who imposed them. We will not be asking for this, but we will convey this idea through interested circles - business, public and other kinds of circles - that sanctions are detrimental, perhaps to a lesser extent for us than for those who introduced them," he said.
"I do not think that sanctions lead to positive effect on our economy. Even in terms of cheeses. There are a lot of consumers of foreign cheeses. From Chile, Argentina, Belarus. There is international cheese competition on the counter. It is of course positive that the Russian cheese-making industry has been growing, but this did not happen because we have eliminated all competitors. The same goes for other areas. We need healthy competition," Pankin said.
Russia is preparing for additional sanctions, and the authorities of the country take urgent measures in case the West decides to disconnect Russia from international payment systems, Pankin said.
On Saturday, June 6, Moody's international rating agency admitted the risk of disconnecting Russia from international payment systems.