Medvedev: Russia Could Close Airspace If West Brings New Sanctions
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said Russia could close its airspace to Western carriers if new European sanctions target Russia's oil and gas companies or impose additional financing restrictions. ● "I hoped that our partners would be smarter," Medvedev told business daily Vedomosti in an interview published Monday. "If there are sanctions related to the energy sector, or further restrictions on Russia's financial sector, we will have to respond asymmetrically." An expansion to European Union sanctions, expected to be implemented Tuesday, would ban three of Russia's main oil companies — Gazprom Neft, Transneft and Rosneft — from raising money on European capital markets for longer than 30 days, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing documents detailing the measures. The expansion to EU sanctions introduced in July would also limit the time of fund-raising to 30 days, down from the previous 90 days, for five state-run banks, including Sberbank and VTB, the report said.
RIA Novosti: Medvedev: Energy, Finance Sanctions Against Russia May Provoke 'Asymmetric Response'