Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called on the US to rethink forthcoming sanctions against Russian officials and oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin, as well as additional wide-ranging sanctions against the Russian economy.

In an interview with the Russian Kommersant newspaper, Lavrov questioned the reasoning for sanctions, and considered their stated goals to be “thoughtless” as no sanction package will change Russia’s “honest, open and constructive politics.”

At the end of January, the Trump administration will release two reports: the so-called “Kremlin Report”, detailing oligarchs and officials close to the Russian leadership accused of corruption, and another which will analyse the expedience of new strict economic sanctions against Moscow.

Lavrov insisted on Moscow’s right to pursue an independent line in global affairs, and claimed that unity of opinion between government and society regarding foreign policy demonstrates that “external attempts to force changes in policy through the pressuring of elites and businesses lack perspective.”

The Foreign Minister went on to warn those attempting to oppose and contain Russia:

“We cannot, being completely disinterested in forcing a spiral of confrontation, remain calm when punished in every single way. This includes diplomatic property, aforementioned sanctions and sport topics.”

The latest round of US sanctions follows an extension of the Magnitsky Act in December 2017, whereby government officials accused of human rights abuses can have their US assets frozen and ability to enter the US restricted. While the reports, due at the end of this month, are not linked with human rights abuses, one is connected with corruption in the higher echelons of power, targeting officials and oligarchs close to Putin. Those affected will have their American financial assets frozen and denied entry to the US. The oligarchs in question have already begun disposing of vulnerable assets.

The second report, meanwhile, deals with an expansion of US economic sanctions against Russia. Far-ranging economic sanctions against individuals and state-owned corporations could see those targeted excluded from the Swift paying system, a vital international messaging network allowing businesses to securely transmit information and instructions using standardised codes. Such unprecedented punishment would make the Cold War look like “child’s play”, according to Sberbank chief German Gref.

The US presidential administration’s reports form part of the wide-ranging ‘Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions’ Act, passed by Congress in 2017. The law equates Russia with Iran and North Korea as American enemies, and significantly limits President Trump’s ability to waiver sanctions. All desired changes to economic sanctions must be congressionally approved.