The European Union (EU) and Great Britain, with the support of the United States, began to develop a new package of anti-Russian sanctions. About it informs financial times.
According to the publication, the restrictions will affect Russian newcomer projects in the gas sector. Sanctions are going to be introduced in the event of Moscow’s aggression against Kiev, thereby putting major Western market players at risk, including BP, Total and Shell. At the moment they have the opportunity to invest in the gas sector of the Russian Federation, but with the introduction of restrictions, they will not be able to continue funding or transfer technology for the direct development of objects related to Russia.
On January 26, British Home Secretary Liz Truss said that London could present a draft of new, tougher sanctions against a number of individuals and legal entities in Russia in the coming days. When Truss was asked by journalists if the British authorities were ready to impose personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, she replied: “We do not exclude anything.”
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Risk and Consequences
A few days earlier, on January 24, The Times wrote that the British authorities feared the imposition of tough economic sanctions against Russia, as this could provoke Moscow into retaliatory measures, which may relate to the reduction of gas supplies to Europe. As emphasized by the publication, such actions could exacerbate the already difficult situation in the field of energy in many parts of Europe.
The UK itself will also suffer: if not because of the likely reduction in Russian gas supplies, whose share in the country is only three percent, then because of the inevitable rise in prices for raw materials in this scenario. At the moment, almost half of the gas that enters the country’s market is produced on the British shelf of the North Sea, a little more than 15 percent of imports are liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, which are mainly carried out by Qatar, the USA and the Russian Federation, and the largest exporter of fuel to Britain is Norway.
Technical difficulties
On the issue of anti-Russian sanctions, the rhetoric of the United States also softened. Thus, the White House said that US President Joe Biden changed his mind about imposing sanctions against Putin, as this would create some technical difficulties, CBS reported, citing sources.
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“The US may impose sanctions on Putin, but for now the White House has decided not to. According to the sources with whom I communicate, if you do this, it will create some technical difficulties, ”the correspondent of the TV channel noted. She also added that if sanctions are imposed against those with whom Washington is negotiating, then it will be difficult for him to travel and coordinate with other partners.
Previously, Biden refused to send troops to Ukraine even if Russia invaded there. According to the Associated Press (AP), the reason for refusing to directly participate in the Russian-Ukrainian war is Washington’s lack of treaty obligations to Kiev. “A war with Russia would be a huge gamble, given the potential to spread to all of Europe, destabilize the region, and escalate to a frightening degree the risk of a nuclear exchange,” the AP noted.
Russian response
In Russia, the threats of restrictive measures and accusations of the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine are unequivocally reacting. Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov warned the West about the boomerang effect and urged not to exaggerate the scale of possible sanctions against the country.
When it comes to economic sanctions, the boomerang effect is sometimes very painful.
The permanent representative added that “the most sensible part of Western and public opinion and the political elite” is of the opinion that sanctions do not have an effective effect, since they do not achieve their goal.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Western countries are in a military frenzy. So he commented on the statements of the leaders of NATO and the EU on the introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions in the event of an escalation of the conflict with Ukraine. Lavrov said that Russia is ready for any development of events and has every opportunity to protect its borders and interests. “We didn’t attack anyone, they always attacked us, and those who did it always got what they deserved,” the minister added.
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