Sunday 30 March 2014 15.32 Western sanctions on Moscow have led to some disruption but have not been too painful, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
The United States and the European Union have imposed two rounds of sanctions on Russia, to punish Moscow for what Western states say is the illegal seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region.
The sanctions include visa bans and asset freezes for some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
Mr Lavrov's comments come ahead of talks this evening with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The two are to meet in Paris as both sides move to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.
The meeting follows a phone call between Mr Putin and US President Barack Obama on Friday.
That call was the first known direct conversation between the two since Washington and its European allies imposed sanctions.
"I don't want to say that sanctions are ridiculous and that we couldn't care less, these are not pleasant things," Mr Lavrov told Russia's Channel One.
He said Western powers have put unofficial restrictions in place, urging their diplomats in Moscow to boycott meetings attended by Russian officials and politicians on the sanctions list.
He said Russian diplomats stationed in EU capitals had also been refused meetings with officials from EU foreign ministries.
"Diplomacy is the art of talking and making agreements," Mr Lavrov said.
"If diplomats are motivated to become instruments of the sanctions policy, then it's a totally different story."
Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum on 16 March.
The vote was dismissed as a sham by Western governments, who said it violated Ukraine's constitution and was held only after Russian forces seized control of the Black Sea peninsula.
The West has threatened tougher sanctions targeting Russia's stuttering economy if Moscow sends more troops to Ukraine.
Russia has drawn up counter-sanctions, barring senior US officials from entering Russia.
On Friday, Moscow said it had retaliated against expanded Western sanctions but did not name any US or EU officials affected.
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