The World Trade Organization is facing a possible collapse if the US and the EU fall through with their plans to impose economic sanctions against Russia, said a senior Russian official.

      In an interview to Rossiya 24 TV Channel, presidential aide Andrey Belousov indicated the WTO will have a hard time to sort out the legal implications arising from possible trade restrictions introduced on the part of Brussels and Washington.

      He pointed out that a WTO member must apply the same conditions on all trade with other WTO members, i.e. a WTO member has to grant the most favorable conditions, on par with the conditions for domestic producers. In case of sanctions, this major principle would be violated, Belousov added.

      Russia has sparked a wave of criticism after it incorporated Crimea into its territory following a referendum on the peninsula with a large ethnic Russian population.

      The US and the EU imposed a raft of sanctions on Russian officials and individuals with close ties to the Kremlin.

      The US also put space and military cooperation on hold, followed by some of its NATO allies, including the UK.

      Trade between the EU and Russia fell sharply in 1Q 2014, echoing a sour political relationship between Moscow and Brussels split over the Ukraine crisis.

      According to Eurostat, EU imports from Russia dropped more than 9 percent in the first quarter of this year totaling €49.1 billion in March, versus €54.4 billion in the first quarter of 2013.

      As Euractiv.com points out, in 2013 the EU only had 27 members, which means the slide is in fact “even more significant”.

      EU exports to Moscow saw a 10.5 percent decrease, shrinking from €28.7 billion to €25.6 billion.