Disputes about sanctions against the Russian Federation: cancel or strengthen?

The US Treasury introduced some sanctions relief aimed at easing the lives of ordinary citizens of the Crimea region of Ukraine. The nature of the changes in the regime of restrictive measures is stated in a statement released on Friday, 30 in January.

Recall that in March last year at a session of the UN General Assembly by a majority of votes a resolution was adopted on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. As a result, the annexation of the Crimea peninsula to Russia was declared null and void.

In accordance with the order of the US Treasury Department, it is now possible to transfer funds from the USA to the inhabitants of the peninsula again. The exceptions were those against whom personal sanctions were imposed.

Today, the EU’s “black lists” include 132 individuals and 28 legal entities from Russia. But the list may be expanded shortly after the decision of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union countries recently adopted in Brussels. The new list is to be approved at the next meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU 9 in February.

In Brussels, an agreement was also reached on extending from March to September 2015 of the sanctions imposed against Russia because of the annexation of the Crimea and its policies in eastern Ukraine. And earlier, after the 30 man who led to the death of a bombardment of a bus in Mariupol, the United States and Canada declared their readiness to introduce additional restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.

Against this background, the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, on Friday, January 31, saw the prospect of the abolition of "anti-Russian" sanctions already this year. At the same time, he made a reservation that it would be rash to count on a quick cancellation of the measures of influence against the Crimea.

“The European Union does not suffer from the Crimean sanctions,” Chizhov explained in an interview with RIA Novosti. - He suffers from sectoral, economic sanctions against Russia. I think it’s more realistic to talk about the prospect of their cancellation. ”

The permanent representative suggested that this could happen "closer to the summer."

In the meantime, the Russian government has developed a “crisis management plan,” thus recognizing that the country is entering a difficult period. According to experts polled by the Russian service of Voice of America, the deterioration of the economic situation in Russia, together with other factors, was significantly influenced by Western sanctions.

Sergei Zhavoronkov, a senior researcher at the Gaidar Institute, is inclined to think that the tactics chosen by Moscow turned out to be losing, and did not rule out adjusting the vector of its policy.

“The initial logic of the Russian authorities, unconditionally, was that the people of Russia should be ready to bear any sacrifices for the geopolitical ambitions of the Kremlin,” he stressed. “However, now that the money in the budget has become significantly less, there is hope that the Russian leadership will begin to sober a little.”

Political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin agrees with him in the sense that the Western strategy in this case turned out to be more far-sighted.

“In the West, they proceeded from the fact that sanctions are not a brick on the head, which, let's say, immediately hits the regime, but a weight in a backpack,” he said. “Carrying it every day will be harder and harder, the efficiency of the Russian economy will decline.”

According to him, in Russia comes the realization that the sanctions were much more serious than it seemed before.

“Just six months ago, all those who felt right were saying that the sanctions would only consolidate the nation, that they would hit America and Europe more, that this was an incentive for reforms, and they said other victorious words,” Oreshkin added. “Now everyone understands that things are worse than ever, and in the near future they will not improve, although some are trying to do a good face on a bad game.”

According to him, in such conditions, Putin’s symbolic measure of support will melt before our eyes.

Source - Voice of America