Russia says not retaliating against Western sanctions for now

Russia will not immediately take any retaliatory measures in response to Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis but could reassess that stance in the future, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. “If their actions continue and they turn to economic measures, in that case we would further study the situation,” he said in translated comments. The United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions against Russia this week for its involvement in Ukraine and threatened tougher economic measures if Moscow does not de-escalate the crisis. “What we’re going to do is continue to call for observance of the Geneva declaration, which, frankly, our partners are trying to escape from.” Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the EU earlier this month reached an agreement in Geneva aimed at defusing the crisis.