Political analyst calls US sanctions strategy against Russia counterproductive
The US sanctions strategy against the Russian Federation is counterproductive; if President-elect Donald Trump turns to it, it will lead Washington to another failure on the Russian track. Political scientist Ivan Mezyukho shared this opinion with Izvestia on January 17.
On the eve, Bloomberg agency, citing sources, reported that Trump may introduce new anti-Russian sanctions as part of one of the strategies to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. It was noted that the second option is to relax measures against Russian oil producers caught under US sanctions.
"Assuming that the Bloomberg information is true, the sanctions approach of Donald Trump's pressure on Russia will demonstrate that the old-new US president has not drawn any conclusions from his own presidential first term, nor from the presidency of Barack Obama or the presidency of Joe Biden. Putting pressure on Russia with sanctions is counterproductive," Mezyukho commented.
He noted that during all the years of sanctions pressure Russia has shown that it is able to resist external political and economic restrictions and at the same time develop its own national product, strengthen its defense capability and sovereignty. The expert added that, judging by Bloomberg's information, Trump is going to communicate with Russia according to the molds of the past, so he should "undergo some path of political sobering."
"And most likely, this path will not be an easy one, because if he does not pass it, in that case he will not be able to negotiate anything with the Russian Federation. Ukraine as anti-Russia is an existential threat to the Russian state. Donald Trump and his team need to accept this position as an axiom," the publication's interlocutor believes.
At the same time, he noted, the Bloomberg publication once again confirms the fact that Donald Trump is going to pursue an aggressive foreign policy towards Russia. Against this background, the positive connotations of some Russian experts who expect after Trump's inauguration the "dissolution" of the conflict in Ukraine and a significant détente between Moscow and Washington are incomprehensible - this will not happen, nothing will resolve itself, Mezyukho expressed confidence.
"Trump is actually an even more difficult negotiator than Joe Biden, who is not in his best physical and political shape. If we proceed from Bloomberg information, we can assume that if Trump acts based on the scenarios written in the publication of this news agency, he will not achieve success," the political scientist summarized.
According to him, the implementation of these ideas for the United States will end with another failure on the Russian direction.
Trump himself, in turn, on January 10, emphasized the need to "end" the Ukrainian conflict. He added that he was preparing for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after his inauguration, scheduled for January 20.
The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.
