Top Russian official: Retaliation against US sanctions on Russia ‘long, long overdue’

Russia’s deputy foreign minister on Sunday said retaliation against U.S. sanctions on Moscow is “long, long overdue.”

“I think this retaliation is long, long overdue,” Sergei Ryabkov told host Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

Moscow has already taken retaliatory steps against a new sanctions bill against Russia by ordering the U.S. to cut back on its diplomatic work force in the Kremlin as well as closing a recreational property used by Americans in the country.

{mosads}Ryabkov denounced the legislation that gives Congress the ability to block the president from lifting Russia sanctions, which largely received overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers.

“After the Senate, the day before yesterday voted, or rather on the 27th of July voted so overwhelmingly on a completely weird and unacceptable piece of legislation, it was the last drop,” he said.

“If the U.S. side decides to move further towards further deterioration we will answer, we will respond in kind. We will mirror this. We will retaliate,” the Russian official said, while adding that the sanctions bill is “to the detriment of the interests of the U.S.”

Ryabkov also warned that if the U.S. escalates its sanctions against the Kremlin, it could react by taking comparable measures.

The sanctions had passed both chambers with veto-proof majorities, effectively forcing Trump’s hand to agree to the bill. Trump said he would sign it after saying he may or may not “veto the sanctions and negotiate an even tougher deal against the Russians.”

“[Trump] has now reviewed the final version and, based on its responsiveness to his negotiations, approves the bill and intends to sign it,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement last week.

The measure comes at a time when there are both federal and congressional investigations into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election.