Britain recognizes sanctions against Russia as reckless

London, UK. Archival photoMOSCOW, 2 Jun. The West will not be able to defeat Russia with sanctions, writes the British edition of The Spectator. After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Europe, as noted in the article, had a «haughty fantasy» that it could prevail solely through restrictions. The latest attempts by the EU to refuse imports of Russian oil show how reckless this is. Sanctions may help lower the living standards of Russian citizens, but they can in no way undermine the source of strength of the national economy, which is the export of oil and gas. Since February, the EU member states have paid Moscow more than 40 billion pounds (almost $50 billion — ed.) for them, recalls The Spectator. But even if the EU agrees to abandon oil and gas imports from Russia, reality completely refutes the assumption that the West can independently wage a sanctions war against Moscow. Europe's dependence on Russian energy resources is the result of many years of ill-conceived policy. The West will not be able to bring down Russia without the help of China, India and other major energy consumers, concludes The Spectator.Fitch assessed the consequences of the EU embargo on Russian oil imports On Tuesday night, EU leaders reached a political agreement on the sixth package of sanctions, which includes, among other things, the gradual introduction of an embargo on oil imports from Russia. At the same time, the ban will affect only deliveries by sea, and oil coming through the Druzhba pipeline is not subject to restrictions. But, according to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, by the end of the year, the EU expects to abandon almost 90% of Russian oil imports. As Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said earlier, after the decision of the leaders of the EU countries, Moscow will find other buyers of raw materials. President Vladimir Putin has pointed out that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy for the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. According to him, the main goal of the United States and Europe is to worsen the lives of millions of people.Read the full text of the article on the InoSMI website >>