MOSCOW: Moscow views the sanctions imposed by London against Russian individuals for alleged human rights violations in Russia's Chechen Republic as groundless and reserves the right to retaliate, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.
The sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom against Russia on Thursday concern three senior Chechen officials and the Terek Special Rapid Response Unit.
"We were perplexed by the decision announced by the UK government on December 10 to impose national sanctions against three Russian citizens and a Russian National Guard unit due to alleged human rights violations in the Chechen Republic," Zakharova said in a statement.
The diplomat stressed that Moscow regards "this groundless decision as a clear demonstration of the unwillingness of the UK authorities to abandon their confrontational policies towards Russia."
"Undoubtedly, this politically biased demarche will have a negative impact on Russian-UK interstate relations. Taking into account the principle of reciprocity, we reserve the right to take adequate retaliatory measures," Zakharova noted.