Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned Friday that he is prepared to wage “economic war” with America if the Trump administration tries to impose tougher sanctions against his country.
“I would like not to comment on the talks about future sanctions, but there is one thing I can say: if measures like a ban on banking activities or the use of this or that currency follows, this can be clearly be described as a declaration of an economic war,” Medvedev said, according to the state-run Tass.
“And this war will have to be responded – by economic, political and, if necessary, other means,” he said. “And our American partners should realize this.”
The Trump administration this week imposed new sanctions against Russia in response to a chemical weapons attack on British soil that the West believes was sponsored by Russia. Those sanctions restrict Russia’s access to U.S. government financing and block some exports to Russia.
In November, Trump could move to block Russia’s access to international financing.
Russia has so far stopped short of saying it would retaliate, but Medvedev’s comment indicates it’s prepared to move if the U.S. takes further steps in the fall.
The latest back and forth is just the latest setback to U.S.-Russia relations since Trump’s July summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many criticized Trump for indicating on the same stage with Putin that he doubted U.S. intelligence officials who said Russia tried to meddle in the U.S. election.
Trump initially talked about inviting Putin to the U.S. later this year. But in late July, he decided to delay a second meeting until after special counsel Robert Mueller finishes his investigation into Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia in the 2016 election.
“The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over,” national security adviser John Bolton said.
In the meantime, Trump has tried to flip the conversation about Russia into how it might be meddling in the next election to help Democrats, in order to hurt Trump’s presidency.
“Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats,” Trump tweeted in late July. “They definitely don’t want Trump!”
