MOSCOW, May 23. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s high-ranking diplomat has said the US sanctions against Russia can cause serious damage to relations between the two countries.

“The US cannot catch that such instrument as sanctions does not work. It is impossible to achieve the desired result,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday.

“In any case, we reacted, And will react in the future by taking concrete measures,” he said.

“We’d like to warn the US once again against taking hasty decisions. There is the danger that additional sanctions will be imposed,” Ryabkov said.

Over several weeks Russia “sees discontinuous attempts to impose new sanctions - not only over Ukraine but also over Syria”, he said.

“You know that one of the Russian banks and its head were subject to US sanctions. The so-called Magnitsky List has been expanded. These are links of the same chain,” Ryabkov said.

“It is time to give up this vicious logic. If the American side believes that there are problems in any sphere, they should be discussed by dialogue. A compromise should be searched for,” he said.

“Any attempts to put pressure on Russia are unacceptable. This won’t work,” Ryabkov added.