Official: Russia to suspend purchases of US dual-use goods

MOSCOW, Aug 23 (PRIME) -- Russia will stop purchases of all dual-use electronic goods and component parts from the U.S. regardless of its sanctions, and will buy the electronics from third countries, including China, Alexei Kondratyev, a deputy chairman of the defense and security committee of the parliament’s upper house Federation Council, told PRIME on Thursday.

The U.S. imposed new anti-Russian sanctions on August 8 to punish Moscow for alleged involvement in poisoning of the Skripal family in March in the U.K. The first package, which includes a ban on supplies of dual-use goods and services to Russia, came in force on Wednesday.

“We will suspend purchases of all American component parts anyway after we have heard the bell…Other countries have similar models of goods that we buy in the U.S., including China. The weapons market is built on universal all-round exchanges, so we will find a way out in any case,” Kondratyev said.

“I can say with a 100% certainty that you won’t need to wait for long for a reasonable response from Russia. You can’t fly into space using our engines and introduce sanctions against us, it is beyond common sense.”

He said that Russia simply has to protect itself and retaliate.

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