U.S. lawmakers' attempt to impose sanctions on Russian energy projects and banks was "racketeering," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
"This policy sometimes borders on racketeering. I mean various provisions of the draft law aimed at disrupting various energy projects of Russian companies, undermining the activities of Russian banks with state participation," Peskov was quoted by Russian news agency TASS as saying.
U.S. legislators on Wednesday proposed a new bill to introduce tougher sanctions on Russia, due to its alledged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and recent moves against Ukraine.
"There is an absolutely concrete, pragmatic and aggressive trading approach behind such proposals, having nothing to do with international trade rules," added Peskov.
The Russian government has already taken measures to protect the country against various "racketeering attacks" of the United States, he said.
When asked about the impact of possible new U.S. sanctions on the Russian economy, the Kremlin spokesman said the government has already developed and adopted a number of effective measures to hedge against such possible racketeering attacks.
