MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. The consequences of hostile anti-Russian policies are becoming increasingly evident for the European Union, and its restrictions against Russia are taking a heavy toll on Europe, a high-ranking Russian foreign ministry official told TASS.

"The protracted process of agreeing on the latest, the 21st, sanctions package has demonstrated that the consequences of hostile anti-Russian policies are becoming increasingly palpable for EU countries. These restrictions are hitting back hard on those who devised them, and the situation with the Greeks has once again clearly confirmed this," Yury Pilipson, director of the ministry’s second European department, said.

"On our part, we keep on pointing to the illegitimacy of the European Union’s unilateral measure of coercion. They cannot change our country’s foreign policy course," he added.

The Financial Times said earlier that Greece had blocked the 21st package of anti-Russian sanctions due to threats to its businesses.