Kremlin says Russia will continue to respond in kind to any sanctions

[April 19, 2021]    MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Monday said Russia would continue to respond in kind if further sanctions were imposed, after new U.S. measures last week targeting sovereign debt and blacklisting Russian companies prompted Moscow to retaliate.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wearing a protective face mask attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual end-of-year news conference, held online in a video conference mode, in Moscow, Russia December 17, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "The principle of reciprocity is an absolute constant. These (retaliatory) decisions will keep being taken if similar practice continues."

On Sunday, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington had told Moscow "there will be consequences" if Alexei Navalny, the opposition figurehead who almost died last year after being given a toxin that Western experts say was Novichok, dies in prison, where he is on hunger strike.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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