Russian government approves list of "enemy countries"

 

 The Russian government approved, on Monday, a list of countries that commit "hostile" acts, in the midst of the country's military operations in neighboring Ukraine, amid widespread Western condemnation.

The approval of this list comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin had hinted at it two days ago, in an effort to respond to sanctions being imposed non-stop since Russia began its military operations on February 24.

The hostile list includes Australia, Britain, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, Singapore, the United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland and Japan.

Moscow had talked about punitive measures that it would also take in response to the hostile actions against it by those countries.

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a guideline to impose sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine would inflict "severe damage" to the Russian economy while limiting the consequences for Americans and Europeans.

Yellen also said during an economic meeting at Stanford University that it was important to work with US allies on a package that could be escalated in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions, leading to tough sanctions on the Russian Central Bank.