The Biden administration on Friday announced new sanctions against Moscow and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for hacking, election interference, and other malign activity. US President Joe Biden signed an executive order proclaiming new sanctions against Russia in response to what the White House calls a number of its ongoing “malign activities” from Moscow, which include interference in US and international elections.
Pressure: Economic & Diplomatic
The new sanctions are the latest in a series of ever-tightening efforts that began five years ago when Russia seized Crimea and backed separatists fighting Ukrainian troops on turf Moscow once ruled. The new sanctions are explicitly aimed at restricting Russian access to high-tech goods and inhibiting its ability to borrow from foreign markets, further economically isolating the nation.
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, explained, “These sanctions are a direct response to Russia’s ongoing destabilizing activities, including interference in democratic processes and cyberattacks.” We will hold the Russian government accountable for its actions.
Impact on Key Sectors
The sanctions are aimed at crippling some of the most important parts of Russia’s economy. Russia agreed to limit any assistance or support provided by the U.S. Department of Energy and other executive branch agencies for Russian oil drilling operations, including services related to deep-water, Arctic offshore, or shale projects that have the potential to produce oil. Some big Russian banks also get it in the neck, making things more complicated (though not impossible) for them on the lending front.
Analysts say that these sanctions could result in long-term damage to Russian GDP. Mark Galeotti, a Russian expert on all things nefarious and vile, divides his time between the city’s Hutchins Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “The new limitations of technology transfer are intended to directly hit development (especially energy) and potentially retard still further Russia’s reservoirs mouth waters. And why not — without adding resource wealth creation dynamo Vladimir Putin simply, thousands of millenarian bodies could be dying around each minute faster through their superior exertions at coal mining alone every ninth second you’re bloody well-getting oil pipeline traffic cops aren’t out protecting British Petroleum production lines anyway over scuba snorkeling booted security landscaping amidst Stratfor!”
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Global Reactions
The news has generated mixed international responses. European Union leaders backed the U.S. moves, but some member states are fearful about their effect on the European economy, particularly in energy industries, such as those of Russia or Germany. With strong economic ties to Russia, Germany offered cautious backing but urged diplomatic solutions.
Russia responded by blasting the sanctions as “economic warfare. “The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Washington more often than not employs sanctions as an instrument of pressure, neglecting international law and free trade principles. These aggressive acts will be responded to with appropriate responses.
Russia’s Response
Russia is expected to respond by expelling at least an equal number of American diplomats there, potentially risking U.S. businesses and other interests in the large country or elsewhere around the world. Ahead of the launch, a Kremlin spokesman said Moscow would step up economic relations with China and other non-Western countries in an effort to counter Western sanctions.
Speaking to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the effect of sanctions, saying, “These measures are not new for us. That is how we faced every difficulty before, and that will also be the way in which we extend our sovereignty, want it or not.
Looking Ahead
The sanctions represent the biggest escalation yet of U.S. punishment against Russia over Internet attacks that American officials say were an attempt to influence the 2016 Presidential election in support of Republican Donald Trump, The Washington Times reports. Some analysts realize that destabilization will be even more dangerous. It will affect not only Eastern Europe but anywhere else because of the sanctions in place from this action on international markets and diplomatic relationships.
But it remains unclear how far the U.S. is willing to go in its efforts to pressure Russia over things that Ukraine wants, such as keeping an oil pipeline flowing and resisting Moscow’s permanent annexation of Crimea. That said, one thing that can be seen is the polarization of geopolitics as sanctions increasingly take center stage in the larger scheme of international interactions.
Conclusion
The increasing sanctions against Russia demonstrate further entrenchment between these two global powers and illustrate the continued trend towards multipolarity in international affairs; the world watches closely as both countries brace for the economic and diplomatic ramifications, with most of the global community hoping that they conclude without spiraling into full-scale warfare. However, with intransigence on both sides, a peaceful negotiated solution looks even more elusive.
