- US has warned Russia of additional and more severe sanctions if it attempts to disrupt or destabilize the oncoming May 25 presidential elections if Europe. However, with Russia opposed to the elections in the face of Ukraine’s ongoing crisis, the sanctions seem inevitable.
- The previous round of sanctions had little direct effect of Russian economy, but generated an outflow of capital to the tune of $150 billion and also increased the cost of borrowing for Russian companies.
- The next expected round of sanctions may penalize Russian industries like energy, defence and finance and trade credits and is expected to affect research institutions but not Russia’s self-sufficient defence industry.
- Europe is opposed to these sanctions as they feel that Russia’s resilience to these sanctions exceeds West’s capacity to sustain them.
- The threat has already initiated preparations by Russia to diversify its energy exports by signing a deal on gas supplies with China.
- Read at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/fresh-sanctions-on-russia-likely-by-mayend/article5977008.ece
Exams Perspective:
- Economic Sanctions
- Impact of Russian Sanctions on Europe
- Russia’s Diversified Energy Needs