MOSCOW, June 21 - The new sanctions imposed by the United States against Russia over the situation in Ukraine are a "political gift" to Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

"On June 20 Washington announced a new significant expansion of the U.S. sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities. It is obvious that this is a political gift to Poroshenko who is currently in the U.S.," Ryabkov said in a commentary on the ministry's website.