Sanctions against Russia irrational, create barriers for normal contacts - Lavrov

MOSCOW, March 21 (Itar-Tass) - Sanctions against Russia are irrational, they just create obstacles to normal contacts, says Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “They (western partners) know that these sanctions are absolutely unjustified. These sanctions will only create barriers to normal contacts and normal communication,” he said. “I am confident of this. I told our colleagues about this. This is simply irrational.” The contacts with western partners “take place every day,” Lavrov said. “Frankly speaking, they produce an ambivalent impression. On the one hand, they take place against the backdrop of sanctions and announcement of different lists. On the other hand, we are told that all this does not mean that the West does not want to cooperate with us in searching for a political settlement to Ukraine’s crisis. Nobody should be persuaded that we are ready for this. From the very beginning we have called for a political settlement.” “Of course, rather evident inconsistency of our western partners recently supplemented with a feeling that they are at a loss to some extent do not help us at different stages of our contacts,” Lavrov said.