Russia expelled 10 American diplomats and imposed sanctions on eight officials in tit-for-tat moves retaliating for new U.S. punitive measures, but stopped short of responding to American restrictions on its sovereign debt.
The Russian government could take steps that harm the interests of U.S. businesses but will hold those in reserve for the moment, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference on Friday.
Lavrov said Russia wouldn’t immediately respond to the U.S. decision to ban its financial institutions from buying new Russian government debt in the primary market. The ruble and Russian bonds initially fell on reports of those restrictions but later made up most of their losses.