Moscow has repeatedly said that Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukrainian conflict are counter-productive. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called the restrictions “quirks of our Western partners.”

“In any way, we [Russia] are paying attention to sanctions, only from the point that we, inside our country, would be ready for such quirks of our Western partners, to be independent from them in the spheres which are vitally important for our country, for our citizens,” he said addressing students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) on Tuesday.