The new EU sanctions against Russia over the delivery of Siemens turbines to Crimea is in direct violation of international law, the Russian Energy Ministry has stated.

The Russian Ministry of Energy slammed the recent decision of the European Commission to broaden its sanctions, blacklisting more individuals and firms accused of delivering Siemens gas turbines to Russia’s Crimea peninsula.

The ministry also emphasized that the EU interference in the dispute is illegal and politically motivated.

“The Ministry of Energy has no doubt that the EU took the decision, based solely on political considerations,” according to a statement on Saturday.

“No legal basis for the inclusion of the employees of Minenergo [The Ministry of Energy] in the sanctions list was produced,” the statement adds.

The ministry said that “political ambitions” will not impede Russia in meeting its commitments to the citizens.

“We are waiting for further clarifications from the European Union. The Ministry of Energy, in turn, is going to continue to ensure the consumers’ energy security. Political ambitions must not be an obstacle for the governments to fulfill commitments to the citizens.”

Siemens, according to the ministry, has become a “hostage of the situation.”

The Russian foreign ministry has expressed “deep regret” over Brussels’ decision to expand the anti-Russian sanction list. The ministry called it an “unfriendly and unjustified” move and said Moscow reserves the right to institute reciprocal measures.

“We are disappointed with the politicization of the issue [around the delivery of Siemens gas turbines to Crimea] that has been reduced to absurd,” the ministry said in statement.

The statement drew attention to the fact that a “loose interpretation” of the sanctions policy used by Germany, which called for new sanctions against Moscow, is “in direct contradiction to both international law and the principle of international relations.”

The ministry also stressed that the “responsibility for all possible economic costs incurred by Siemens and other German companies working in Russia falls fully on the EU as well as on the German government.”

Russia’s foreign ministry also denounced the EU move as “unfriendly and unjustified” and called the reasons for the imposition of a fresh round of sanctions “absolutely unsubstantiated.” Moscow underlined that it “reserves the right for retaliatory measures.”

However, the statement said Russia is still “interested in keeping and developing economic cooperation with both Germany and the EU” as is still “committed to all obligations it took on.” Moscow aims at “overcoming all [the] negative effects of sanctions,” it added.

On Friday, the EU added to the sanctions list three Russian officials: Russian Deputy Energy Minister Andrey Cherezov, the head of the department of operational control and management in Russia’s electric power industry, Evgeniy Grabchak, and state firm Technopromexport CEO Sergey Topor-Gilka.

The move came following a more than a month-long row over the delivery of Siemens gas turbines to Crimea, which has been under EU and US sanctions following its reunification with Russia in 2014. Western companies are currently prohibited from doing business in Crimea.

In July, the German conglomerate said the four disputed turbines were initially intended for a project in the southern Russian region of Taman, not far from the Crimean Peninsula, but were “illegally moved to the region against clear contractual agreements.” The company has suggested buying back the turbines, and wants to cancel the contract for delivery. It is also going to terminate agreements for supplying Russian power plants and halt equipment deliveries to state-run entities.

The equipment buyer, state-owned Russian company Technopromexport, said it bought the equipment on the secondary market and modernized it at Russian facilities.