London’s New Sanctions Seen as Display of Blatant Hypocrisy — Russian Diplomat

The UK Foreign Office on Monday announced sanctions on 13 Russian nationals and the Artek international children’s center in Crimea

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. London’s new sanctions against Russian nationals and organizations are nothing but a show of blatant hypocrisy, something that has become a hallmark of London’s foreign policy, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

"We consider London’s openly hostile actions as new manifestations of unabashed hypocrisy, which has become a hallmark of the British foreign policy," she noted.

According to Zakharova, no "sanctions convulsions" can help London force Russia to change its sovereign course. "The task and goals of the special military operation will be fully attained," she stressed.

"Demonstrating fake 'concern for children,' it [London] continues to demonstrate unparalleled cynicism and supply deadly weapons to the Kiev regime, which uses them against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Donbass, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, in the Republic of Crimea and other Russian regions. British shells and missiles kill, cripple and orphan children it allegedly ‘defends.’ It makes London a co-perpetrator of this and other crimes of the Kiev regime and it will not escape responsibility," she stressed.

The UK Foreign Office on Monday announced sanctions on 13 Russian nationals and the Artek international children’s center in Crimea. The restrictions that include an entry ban and asset freeze cover Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov, Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova, Kamchatka Region Governor Vladimir Solodov, Adygeya Republic Governor Murat Kumpilov, and the head of the Kharkov Region’s military-civilian administration, Vitaly Ganchev.

According to the Foreign Office, the sanctioned individuals, including the Moscow Region children’s ombudsperson Ksenia Mishonova; the Donetsk People’s Republic human rights ombudsperson Darya Morozova; adviser on children's rights to the DPR’s head Eleonora Fedorenko; and the head of staff of the Sevastopol office of the Young Army Cadets National Movement, Vladimir Kovalenko, contributed to the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at talks with African leaders on June 17 that the Russian government had acted absolutely legally when it evacuated children from the conflict zone in Ukraine and had never objected to their reunification with their families.

Western, UN assurances no longer enough for Russia’s grain deal return — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova stressed that the Russian side had done everything so that "really needy countries could use the [food] products that could be pushed through via the channels provided under this package agreement"

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Russia no longer intends to trust any promises by Western countries and the UN regarding the Black Sea grain deal, and could consider returning to the deal only after seeing concrete results, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on air during a Channel One television broadcast.

"We proceeded from the fact that we gave every opportunity to UN Secretary General [Antonio Guterres], were ready to work with him, and did everything in our power to unblock the situation. We will no longer accept any assurances and promises, or some cavalier last-minute initiatives aimed only at getting us to say ‘yes.’ Only concrete results. And when such concrete results are presented, only then, perhaps, would it be possible [for us] to think about returning to this deal," the diplomat said.

Zakharova stressed that the Russian side had done everything so that "really needy countries could use the [food] products that could be pushed through via the channels provided under this package agreement."

"But, unfortunately, the West's game has gone too far," she added.

The grain deal ceased functioning on July 17. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia was ready to return to the grain deal only once the Russia-related provisions of the original agreement were duly implemented.