Former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan Chris Alexander believes that if Russia shows military aggression against Ukraine, it will find itself in international isolation, and its economy will collapse. He expressed this opinion in his article for the publication The globe and mail Wednesday, December 1st.
“A larger and more blatant invasion of Ukraine … will provoke even greater bleeding of the Russian economy,” the diplomat said.
He noted that Canada should also help Ukraine with joining NATO, as this helps to strengthen the combat capability of Kiev and reduce the EU’s energy dependence on the Russian Federation.
The former ambassador also wrote in an article that he advocates the introduction of preventive sanctions against Moscow.
Earlier, on December 1, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said at a press conference following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Riga that the United States was ready to impose large-scale economic sanctions against Russia in the event of its aggression towards Ukraine. The head of the State Department added that Washington will inform Moscow in advance about the details of these restrictions.
On the same day, Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, commented on the words of US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland that if Russia takes steps to destabilize Ukraine, “unprecedented” sanctions will be applied to it. He noted that all kinds of accusations against the Russian Federation, including the situation with Ukraine, have been “sucked out of the finger”. Novikov also said that “the potential of sanctions pressure has its limits and they have long proved their ineffectiveness.”
On November 21, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the West is artificially stirring up hysteria with its statements about the alleged preparation of Russia for an attack on Ukraine. He added that provocations are not ruled out, and NATO countries should stop “pumping up Ukraine with modern weapons.”
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