The European Union’s plans to accelerate its gradual decoupling from Russian energy and goods will not affect Russia and will not force it to change its position, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday, Tuesday, after a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, that the EU executive will propose a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports.

“(European countries) mistakenly believe that the continuation of the sanctions policy is capable of somehow influencing the position of the Russian Federation,” Peskov said at a regular briefing for reporters.

“Russia, which defends its national interests, is certainly not affected by these sanctions. And the last three years have convincingly demonstrated this,” he added.

Russia’s economy has shown resilience in the face of Western-imposed sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, although it faces high inflation and a growing budget deficit, partly as a result of much increased military spending.

Despite the sanctions, the EU still imports billions of euros worth of Russian energy and Russian goods, from liquefied natural gas to enriched uranium, though its imports of Russian oil and gas have fallen sharply.