High inflation, depleted reserves: EU says how sanctions working on Russia
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Although Russia has managed to circumvent sanctions partially or even completely, in the end, it has to pay a very high price for it, Elina Valtonen, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, stated in an interview with Welt.
Responding to a question about whether it is worth imposing sanctions against Russia as soon as possible, as threatened by Germany, France, Britain, and Poland if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire, Valtonen replied that today, the European Union is working precisely on the 17th package of restrictions and plans to adopt it.
She added that Europe understands better than others that the Russian Federation understands only force, which is why it is necessary to continue working on deterrence and exert economic pressure on the terrorist country.
How sanctions work
As Valtonen explained, sanctions do not exclude imports or exports from one day to the next. Despite the fact that Russia has managed to partially or even completely circumvent the restrictions, sanctions force Moscow to pay a high price.
"And this is now reflected in very high inflation, which, unfortunately, is being felt by people on the street. Everything has become much more expensive. And we also see that the national wealth funds, which Russia obviously created so that the country could wage war for a longer time, are also gradually being depleted. Now is the very moment when the economic pressure on Russia must be so strong that Russia feels it, so that it is more likely to go to negotiations and lay down arms," the head of the ministry emphasized.
Sanctions against Russia
After the full-scale invasion, Western countries, in particular the United States of America, the EU, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, and others, imposed sanctions against Russia.
The sanctions include freezing the assets of the Central Bank of Russia, disconnecting certain banks from the international SWIFT payment system, restrictions on the export of high-tech equipment, particularly in the defense and energy sectors, as well as personal sanctions against the political and business elite.
In recent years, the EU has already approved some packages of restrictions against the terrorist country. Today, May 14, it became known that the union countries have agreed on the 17th package of sanctions.
