Russia on Wednesday said it was working on a broad response to sanctions that would be swift and felt in the West’s most sensitive areas.

“Russia’s reaction will be swift, thoughtful and sensitive for those it addresses,” Dmitry Birichevsky, the director of the foreign ministry’s department for economic cooperation, was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.

Russia’s economy is facing the gravest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union after the West imposed crippling sanctions on almost the entire Russian financial and corporate system following its invasion of Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports in retaliation for the invasion.

Russia warned earlier this week that oil prices could rise to over $300 per barrel if the United States and European Union banned imports of crude from Russia.

According to Russia, Europe consumes about 500 million tonnes of oil a year.

Meanwhile, Russia supplies around 30 per cent of that, or 150 million tonnes, as well as 80 million tonnes of petrochemicals.

Russia said it was essential to ensure its security after the United States enlarged the NATO military alliance to Russia’s borders and supported pro-Western leaders in Kyiv.

(Reuters/NAN)