Low credit ratings issued against a Russian economy crippled by low oil prices and sanctions are part of a Western economic war, a Kremlin official said Friday. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said credit downgrades are based on the political motives of Western powers frustrated with Kremlin policies. “The use of targeted and deliberate downgrades of ratings of Russian companies and the sovereign rating of the country has become a part of the U.S. and EU economic war against us,” he said. Standard & Poor’s in January cut Russia’s foreign currency rating to junk status. Russia’s currency, the ruble, continues to lose value, trading Friday at 67 to the U.S. dollar, down about 6.25 percent from the start of the year. Low oil prices and pressure […]