EU flags near the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels. File photoWASHINGTON, Mar 2The recent EU sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine and retaliatory measures from Moscow will provoke large-scale negative consequences and a protracted economic recession, Erl Rasmussen, Vice President of the Eurasian Center, expressed this opinion in an interview with RIA Novosti. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said that the European Union is well aware of the negative consequences of sanctions against Russia for the community itself. According to her, these restrictions will also be “expensive” for the EU economy.
"These sanctions against Russia from Europe will plunge it into a historical recession", Rasmussen said, commenting on the latest sanctions of European countries against Russia on against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, where the Russian military is conducting an operation to demilitarize the country.
The analyst reacted negatively to the decision of official Berlin to stop the certification of Nord Stream 2, pointing out that such a step would entail an uncontrolled jump in energy prices not only in Germany, but also in neighboring countries. «Energy markets may jump. My colleagues in Europe tell me that prices have already risen by 30%. They will rise even more — perhaps twice or more,» the vice president of the Eurasia Center predicted.
The West has opened a second front against Russia. Economic Rasmussen pointed out that, contrary to all promises, the US is unable to compensate Europe for natural gas supplies from Russia. According to him, supplies of «blue fuel» from other regions will be incomparable either in terms of volume or cost. «EU leaders made a huge mistake. Russian gas will not be replaced — it is impossible. In addition, replacing Russian gas will be much more expensive, perhaps two to four times more expensive,» the political scientist believes. Over the weekend, Western countries initiated new sanctions against Russia. Thus, in connection with the operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the European Union banned any Russian aircraft from landing, taking off or flying over the territory of the EU in addition to banning its companies from supplying civil aircraft and spare parts to Russia. In addition, on the eve it became known that the EU banned operations related to the management of reserves and assets of the Central Bank of Russia. EU states will be able to conduct transactions with the Bank of Russia if it is «strictly necessary» to ensure financial stability. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that about half of the financial reserves of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation will be frozen thanks to new EU sanctions. Also, as the German Cabinet said, all Russian banks that have already fallen under the sanctions of the international community, and, if necessary, other Russian banks, will be excluded from the SWIFT payment order system.
«Biden and NATO were destroyed.» How the world reacted to the actions of RussiaThe authorities of the Russian Federation took retaliatory steps to these restrictions — mirroring the ban on flights of European carriers through the territory of the country. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank also stated that they are monitoring the situation on the financial market. To ensure stability, the Central Bank urgently raised the key rate on Monday to a record 20% and suspended trading in shares, while the Ministry of Finance obliged exporters to sell 80% of foreign exchange earnings. At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Finance, Anton Siluanov, said that all social spending of the budget would be met, and banks would additionally capitalize, if necessary. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the country had been systematically preparing for quite a long time for possible sanctions, including the most severe ones, with which Russia is facing now. And answering the question whether Russia would have a mirror response to the sanctions that were imposed against it, he said that Russia's responses would be built mainly in terms of the expediency and interests of Russia.
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