Briefing from Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

Newsdesk: Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova about US practice of forcing neutral countries to comply with anti-Russian sanctions (February 17, 2023)

In an attempt to do as much damage as possible to Russia, the United States is increasingly forcing neutral countries to comply with anti-Russian sanctions.

We have already talked about this (see briefing of February 1) and we are ready to cite another instance.

We have learned that several dozen Russian vessels have been banned from calling at the ports of Bangladesh. We know that this unfriendly step was taken by the country’s authorities not at all on their own initiative but under the threat of secondary sanctions by the United States. Here is another example of this intimidation.

We regret that this is not the first time that Dhaka has succumbed to Washington’s relentless pressure. By giving in to outright blackmail, it risks making the future of traditionally friendly Russia-Bangladesh relations contingent on the whims of a third country pursuing its own geopolitical goals.

We expect the leadership of Bangladesh to find the strength to assert its national interests more resolutely. It is undoubtedly in their interest to develop a mutually beneficial partnership with Russia, which has come to the country’s aid more than once in different periods of its history.