MOSCOW
International rating agency Moody's has announced it has downgraded 14 Russian regions and municipalities and placed the Russian capital of Moscow on review for a downgrade.
The company's website on Wednesday cited the "potential deterioration of its credit profile in an environment of increased systemic risk" as the main reasons for reviewing Moscow's triple-A rating.
Russia's second city, St. Petersburg, has already been downgraded along with another 13 Russian regions and municipalities after Moody's said they bore "systemic risks".
Other major cities targeted for downgrade include Volgagrad, Samara and Nizhniy Novgorod.
The rating agency downgraded the Russian government's bond rating from Baa3 to Baa2 (negative) on Jan. 16.
Increasing tensions
The announcement comes amid increasing tensions between Washington and Russia.
U.S. President Barack Obama declared in his sixth State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday night: "... it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated, with its economy in tatters."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded on Wednesday, saying: "We hear from our Western partners that Russia has to be isolated ... specifically, Barack Obama has just repeated that."
"These attempts won’t be effective."
Saying the "mentality of the Cold War has not disappeared" in Washington nor among some NATO states, he added: "We call for a return to the path of constructive cooperation both in bilateral relations and in the international arena."
