A Russian official issued a veiled threat to the United States on Thursday, pledging a response to America's "idiotic" sanctions against Moscow.
The warning occurred when Maria Zakharova, director of the Information and Press Department of Russia's Foreign Ministry, said the unfriendly actions of the U.S. and Britain will not go "unanswered."
Citing the Russian newspaper Izvestia, via Newsweek, Zakharova said on the "Solovyov Live" program, "All the measures that they will take, even of such an idiotic nature, they will be developed and continued ... we, of course, as you know, do not leave anything unanswered, and they must understand this."
Recently, State Department officials said they would consider putting Russia on the "Sponsors of Terrorism" list, which includes just four nations: Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Syria.
The likely reason: Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which dates to Feb. 24.
Also, the U.S. and its allies are creating new teams to "seize and freeze" the giant boats, estates, and other exorbitant assets of Russian elites.
The REPO task force (short for Russian elites, proxies and oligarchs) will apparently work with other countries to investigate and prosecute oligarchs and individuals allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In her Thursday interview, Zakharova did not tease the severity of retaliation Russia might invoke against the U.S. However, previous warnings against Britain have been more specific, according to Newsweek.
For example, the Kremlin recently warned Britain that its support for Ukraine striking Russian targets would be met with an immediate "proportional response" from Moscow.
"We would like to underline that London's direct provocation of the Kyiv regime into such actions, if such actions are carried out, will immediately lead to our proportional response," Russia's Defense Ministry said in response to a statement by U.K. armed forces minister James Heappey, according to a Reuters report.
On Monday, a U.S. panel recommended the State Department designate Russia, China, India, North Korea, and 11 other nations for "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) status, effectively punishing the countries for violating acts of religious freedom.
In the report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said the 15 countries were chosen because "their governments engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations."
The report also targets nations that use and abuse "restrictive laws to repress religious freedom" around the world.
Russia's inclusion on the CPC list predates its war with Ukraine.
