... allegedly resulted not from the shortage of funding, but rather from the production capacity limitations of the national defense industry. Moreover, in 2023 there was a fast recovery in household consumption after a downturn a year earlier.
The pressure of Western sanctions was steadily increasing not only on Russia itself, but also on its key partners in the Global South through various instruments of ‘secondary sanctions’; however, this pressure did not prevent a continuous rise of Russia’s trade with China ...
... against Russia has several features. First of all, what is striking is the almost complete absence of “black knights,” at least in the form in which they existed during the Cold War. The countries of the world majority have distanced themselves from Western sanctions and have not implemented them. They trade with Russia when it is profitable for them. But there is no need to talk about targeted and large-scale support for Russia yet. Many of these countries have their own relations with the West and a multi-vector ...
The tit-for-tat logic will continue to dominate relations between Russia and the West
What will the sanctions policy against Russia be in 2024? Is it possible to predict the priorities of such a policy? Yes, it is quite easy. Key decisions on sanctions in 2024 are already embedded in current political decisions. We will see the further expansion of ...
... not see increasing supplies as a red line. Ideologically, Russia and the West have become fundamental rivals for each other. There are no visible compromise solutions to their contradictions. Both sides expect to impose their terms on each other. The West hopes to do so by exhausting Russia with sanctions, providing direct assistance to its military enemy, waging an information war and influencing countries which are neutral or friendly to Russia. Russia hopes to do so by inflicting a military defeat on Ukraine and solving the tasks of the special ...
... MET.
From political perspectives, the OPEC+ decision to cut production is also beneficial. After the February statement of Mr. Novak regarding Russia’s intention to cut oil production, many critics interpreted it as a forced measure. They say the sanctions are doing their job, and Russia can no longer produce enough oil without Western technologies, trying to disguise the actual drop in production as a planned voluntary reduction. Following this logic, other producers also face problems, which is, surely, not true. Furthermore, Russia can present the OPEC+ decision in the information ...
... most part, will not be lifted even in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine and a peace agreement. There will be no return to "pre-February normality". Instead of remembering a lost past, we will have to focus on creating a new future in which Western sanctions remain a constant variable.
Why is the lifting of Western sanctions on Russia extremely unlikely? There are several reasons.
Ivan Timofeev:
The Policy of Sanctions and the Golden Horde Legacy
The first reason is the complexity of the conflict ...
... an internationally recognized terrorist organization, is still in control of Idlib. It has usurped authority, manipulating humanitarian aid that flows into the province. Russia blames the co-sponsors of res. 2585 for accepting the status quo in northwestern Syria.
4. The U.S. and the EU have imposed unilateral sanctions on Syria, which significantly hinders humanitarian aid deliveries, early recovery and post-conflict reconstruction.
5. The U.S. illegal military presence in northeastern Syria and the U.S. General License 22 (issued on May 12, 2022) exempting ...
... shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and “blue hydrogen” (producing hydrogen from Russia’s gas, and then sequestering the CO
2
).
Ivan Timofeev:
The US Confiscation Policy
According to the recent IMF working
paper
and
statements
, the West has imposed unprecedented financial sanctions against Russia, while this bears the risk of eroding the dominance of the U.S. dollar as the Ukraine conflict could cause more fragmentation in global financial system. Would you agree with that assumption as Russia, China, India, Saudi Arabia,...
... the US will lose Cold War 2, and for the same reasons: Economic and social depletion. The situation of the EU countries will be similar, though less pronounced.
5. Russia has long been a permanent and priority target of Western economic sanctions. And Western sanctions have now got as bad as they can be. Pressure will cease to increase, because it can be no worse. Russia already buys nearly nothing from the West—neither technology, food, or consumption goods. For a couple of years, the West will still have ...
... to negotiating a moratorium on NATO enlargement or other options for legally-binding guarantees of Russian security.
Alexander Yermakov:
A Military Response to Russians’ Infernal Question
5. Russia has long been a permanent and priority target of Western economic sanctions. Sanction pressure is expected to augment, gradually but steadily. It will take a long time to get rid of the existing dependence on Russian supplies, hydrocarbons primarily—but the West will hardly step away from this path. The abandonment ...
