Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's National Security Council, on Tuesday (1/3), sent a stern warning to France: economic wars often turn out to be real wars.
Medvedev's warning came following statements by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in an interview with France Info radio. According to Le Maire, the European Union will wage "economic war" against Russia.
Le Maire's comments follow a number of heavy economic sanctions that have ensnared Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. One of them is that a number of Russian banks were excluded from the SWIFT financial transaction service.
"We will wage a total economic and financial war against Russia. The Russian people will pay the consequences," Le Maire was quoted as saying by TASS.
Medvedev apparently was not happy with Le Maire's statement. Through his social media, Medvedev sent cold threats.
"Today, there was a French minister who said they were declaring economic war against Russia," Medvedev said, as reported by TASS.
“Watch your mouth, gentlemen! And don't forget, in human history, economic wars have often turned into real (wars)," he stressed.
Since Thursday (24/2) last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a massive attack on Ukraine. The United Nations says at least 136 civilians have been killed, including 13 children, and 400 have been injured since Russia invaded Ukraine.
