MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin has harshly criticized U.S. foreign policy for sowing chaos around the world and for imposing sanctions on Russia.
"U.S. foreign policy causes damage to various countries in various parts of the world, creating zones of chaos. Take North Africa, the Middle and Near East, and now already the European continent represented by Ukraine, a country brotherly to us," Naryshkin said at negotiations with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday.
"And it's clear that the European Union introduced the so-called sanctions in large part under Washington's pressure," he said.
"I call them the so-called sanctions because they in fact have nothing to do with international law or the World Trade Organization and are nothing but an instrument of gross political and economic blackmail, which causes damage both to the EU countries and Russia," Naryshkin said.
Speaking to journalists before the meeting with Tsipras earlier on Thursday, Naryshkin said Russia supported Greece's position "on the so-called anti-Russian sanctions" and described this position as open.
"We have said repeatedly, and this is not a secret to anyone, that the so-called sanctions are in fact an illegitimate measure, speculation, and blackmail," Naryshkin said.
He insisted that the sanctions constituted economic and political blackmail causing damage to both Russia and the EU countries.