Russia retains its right to react to US unfriendly steps - Foreign Ministry

"In building our relations with the American side, we cannot but take account of the steps initiated by the Barack Obama administration designed to aggravate bilateral relations; practically freeze contacts in most directions and constantly increase sanctions pressure on Russia with an aim to weaken the Russian economy and create conditions for unswaying the internal political situation in the country," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"We retain our right to react accordingly to all the unfriendly steps directed against us," the ministry's report said.

Russia reserves right to challenge anti-Russian sanctions with WTO

The report says Russia reserves the right to challenge the legitimacy of anti-Russian sanctions at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and take response measures.

"One of the top priority tasks for the Russian foreign ministry is all-round support to the activities of Russian economic operators on foreign markets," the document says. "The work of the ministry in this sphere will have a comprehensive character and will include such measures as defending legal rights and interests of national investors and exporters abroad, preventing restrictions on access of Russian goods and services to external markets, counteracting sanctions and anti-dumping procedures against manufacturers."

"For these ends, we will fully use possibilities linked with the membership in the World Trade Organization," the ministry said. "We reserve the right to apply to the WTO to challenge the legitimacy of restrictions used against our country, to take response measures like the ban on imports of certain types of agricultural products, raw materials and foods from the European Union countries and the United States that was imposed in August 2014."

Moscow ready for meaningful dialogue with EU

According to the ministry, Russia keeps the door open to meaningful dialogue with the European Union to promote the "integration blocs" project.

"Despite the complexity of the current situation, relations with the EU, Russia's neighbor and largest trading partner, will remain one of the priorities of the Russian foreign policy in the coming years," the document says. "We keep the door open to meaningful dialogue with EU in promoting the "integration blocs" project, ultimately forming the common economic and humanitarian space from the Atlantic to the Pacific based on the principles of equal and indivisible security."

The document also stresses that Russia will push ahead with its efforts to maintain a balanced agenda of the Council of Europe. "We are aimed at boosting the organization's role as the leading multidisciplinary all-European cooperation mechanism providing by means of its conventional tools the unity of the legal and humanitarian space of the continent," the report says, Kazinform refers to TASS.