MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that attempts to exert pressure on Moscow through sanctions were pointless, the Russian Foreign Minister said in a statement on Thursday.

Russia considers no counter-demands to US in response to Tillerson's plan

"While assessing the prospects for bilateral dialogue, Sergey Lavrov pointed out that attempts to exert pressure on Russia through sanctions were pointless, though Washington once again used this tool on June 20," the statement reads. "Such steps put Russian-US ties at serious risk, while bilateral relations are already going through a tough period," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

The Russian top diplomat also stressed that Moscow expected Washington to respond to its proposals aimed at normalizing bilateral relations.

"In order to assess the current situation, Russia had to postpone the meeting between a Russian deputy foreign minister and a US undersecretary of state, who were scheduled to meet on June 23 to discuss issues concerning Russian-US relations," the statement says.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said earlier that the next round of consultations between high-ranking Russian and US diplomats had been cancelled. The consultations were planned to involve Ryabkov and US Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon.

Fight against terrorism

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, "while discussing global issues, Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s attitude towards the actions that the US-led coalition takes, which violate Syria’s sovereignty and hinder activities aimed at suppressing terrorists and facilitating efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis."