MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to restrict exports of Russian metals is an invitation for officials to think about it and there are no concrete measures yet, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Peskov said the proposal was a reaction to Western economic sanctions and was not related to the question of Ukraine’s use of Western long-range missiles.
“These are completely unrelated things. This is related to the practice of illegal trade restrictions, attempts to constantly resort to new and newer restrictions in trade against our country,” Peskov said.
“There are no specifics yet, it was a proposal to think about it without harming ourselves, without damaging our own interests. They (the government) will consider it,” Peskov said.
Putin told a government meeting on Wednesday that Russia should consider limiting exports of various commodities including uranium, titanium and nickel.