New EU Sanctions on Russia will backfire: Russian Foreign Ministry

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said as quoted by Sputnik that the European Union has decided to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, adding that these actions also jeopardize the interests of the member states.

"They [EU states] are abandoning market principles — in energy, finance, and in many other areas. This is their choice. But this choice, when implemented in concrete actions, undermines international economic relations in the form, in which they have been formed in recent years, and undermines the economic interests of these countries," Grushko said.

The official went on to say that it is obvious that the United States benefits from all of these sanctions, stressing that Russia will implement policies to secure its economic interests.

This comes as the permanent representatives of EU countries on Thursday evening agreed on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia. The EU has already imposed eight waves of unprecedented anti-Russia sanctions since the start of the Ukraine war in February, including targeting Russian key oil exports. 

After the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the West, western sanctions backfired, having detrimental effects on the world's global markets, most notably gas and oil. European governments are now suffering the repercussions of their sanctions amid rising strikes and protests over the cost of living and pay.