American flag near the US Capitol building. File photoMOSCOW, June 19The sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia ended up being «shot in the foot,» William Ruger, president of the American Institute for Economic Research, told Fox News. , sanctions seldom cause the states they target to «change their behavior». «But you can't force heads of state to give up what they consider to be of the utmost importance to their vital national interests. In the case of Russia, this is the situation in Ukraine,» he said.
Asia Times: Biden trapped over UkraineAccording to Ruger, the situation when, under sanctions pressure, Russia increases its income from the sale of energy resources is another case of «unintended consequences» that were the result of «incorrect actions.» «We were told about all these yachts that we seized and then we had to pay for their maintenance. And this is just a small example. But we see this in the case of oil prices, and in the case of food prices. And then before our eyes the United The states are saying, you know, we need to provide subsidies for global food aid,” he said. , «does not really help.» «I repeat: everything is very predictable. And the typical picture that we see from the current administration is political decisions that some that seem to benefit American taxpayers or people abroad, but in reality turn out to be shot in the foot,” the scientist concluded. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» In response, Western countries have introduced a number of new anti-Russian sanctions, many foreign companies have suspended their work in Russia. Restrictive measures also affected Belarus, which the West accused of supporting the Russian military special operation in Ukraine. According to the Russian president, such actions by the West are aimed at worsening the lives of millions of people. The sanctions pressure on Moscow has already turned into economic problems for the US and Europe, causing a serious increase in fuel and food prices. Inflation in the US and EU is on the rise
