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Russian President Medvedev says sanctions can be a justification for war

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, delivers a speech during a Shipbuilder’s Day ceremony in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 29, 2022. Sputnik/Valentin Egorshin/Pool via REUTERS

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June 30 (Reuters) – Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that under certain circumstances, sanctions against Moscow could be seen as an act of aggression and a justification for war.

“I want to point out once again that under certain circumstances such hostile measures can be qualified as an act of international aggression. And even as a casus belli (justification for war),” Medvedev said, adding that Russia has the right to defend itself.

Russia has faced a barrage of crippling economic sanctions from Western countries in response to its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation”.

Medvedev, a former Russian president who was once considered a liberal, has emerged as one of the fiercest supporters of the war, delivering a series of scathing rebukes to the West.

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