Russia is retreating along the entire front: Moscow will not respond to new Western sanctions
Moscow - Kyiv, September 22 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - Contrary to the initial bellicose reaction, Russia nevertheless decided not to respond to increased economic sanctions from the European Union and the United States. This was announced last Saturday by Deputy Prime Ministers Arkady Dvorkovich and Dmitry Kozak. Experts consider Russia’s refusal to escalate sanctions in the context of its refusal to support the successes of the Donbass militias.
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“New anti-Russian sanctions will not remain without a proper reaction from our side,” the Russian Foreign Ministry announced immediately after the European Union’s decision to tighten restrictions on the Russian Federation due to the Ukrainian crisis. Just a week ago, presidential aide Andrei Belousov said that the “second wave” of Russia’s response to Western sanctions could include restrictions on the import of cars, clothing, wood products and a number of financial services. The head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Alexey Ulyukaev, added that new Russian anti-sanctions may include a ban on the import of refrigerators and petrochemical products. On the eve of these statements, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev threatened the West with a ban on transit flights through Russian airspace.
Today, such threatening rhetoric is not heard from Russian officials. On the contrary, they convince us that we should not expect a new round of anti-sanctions from Russia. The issue of introducing retaliatory measures to Western sanctions is not currently being discussed in the Russian government; this is not a priority, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said last Saturday. Another deputy prime minister, Dmitry Kozak, who is under personal sanctions, also announced on Saturday that the Russian Federation does not intend to introduce retaliatory measures to Western sanctions.
Experts interviewed by NG believe that, firstly, the Russian economy will not withstand a further war of sanctions because it is too dependent on the West. For example, Aeroflot, which flies leased Western aircraft, may go bankrupt. And secondly, retaliatory sanctions could undermine peace negotiations on Ukraine, which are objectively beneficial to Kyiv, but not beneficial to either the militia or the civilian population of Donbass.
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