Washington's sanctions prove unreliability: Russian FM

Washington, by imposing sanctions on its allies related to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, proved its unreliability, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

"When the closest allies are punished for solving their economic problems and tasks related to energy security, I think that no country in the world should ever doubt that if the United States promises them something, they will be abandoned at any moment," Lavrov said when speaking at the Federation Council, or upper house of the Parliament.

The United States has once again demonstrated that its diplomacy comes down primarily to intimidation by various methods, including sanctions, ultimatums and threats, he said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a 738 billion USD defence bill, which includes controversial provisions calling for sanctions against Russia and Turkey and companies involved in building Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Russia has implemented and will continue to implement its economic projects, regardless of any sanctions.

It said that the US desire to harm Russian exports is not the only aim of the sanctions.

"No less evident is the desire to impose US liquefied gas on Europe, which costs it much more than pipeline deliveries from Russia, and thereby (slows) down the development of the economy of Russia and (undermines) its ability to compete with the United States in world markets," the statement said.IANS