MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Wednesday it continues to monitor statements by US President Donald Trump regarding sanctions against Moscow, but that Russia had acquired immunity to such measures thanks to long experience.

Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would start imposing tariffs and other measures on Russia in 10 days if Moscow showed no progress towards ending its more than three-year-long war in Ukraine.

“We have been living under a huge number of sanctions for quite a long time, our economy operates under a huge number of restrictions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“Therefore, of course, we have already developed a certain immunity in this regard, and we continue to note all statements that come from President Trump, from other international representatives on this matter.”

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the threat of new sanctions “routine” and said it was odd that the US and the West had not yet understood that imposing such measures did not work and only served to hurt Western economies.

“We see that the West simply cannot let go of the issue of sanctions. It seems as if they are constantly stuck in a rut,” Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow.

“Apparently, there are no other options left — they have been exhausted. We are responding and taking measures to counteract all of this or even turn it to our own advantage.”

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2025