The head of German diplomacy expressed her disappointment at the lesser-than-expected impact of multiple Western economic sanctions against Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine, in a book that has just been published.
“In principle, economic sanctions should have economic consequences, but this is not the case” in the case of Russia, Annalena Baerbock told journalist Stephan Lamby in a book dedicated in particular to the German government’s management of the war in Ukraine. .
This interview took place on July 10, the German journalist explained to AFP.
alternate solution
“The experience we have had is that it is not possible to put an end to this war through rational decisions and measures (…) because the logic of democracies does not work precisely in autocracies,” added the minister.
The book in which he speaks is entitled “Ernstfall. Regieren in Zeiten des Krieges” (Emergency Situation. Governing in Wartime, Editor’s Note) and was published by CH Beck in Germany.
His words are likely to fuel the debate, even in his own country, about the relevance of economic and financial sanctions against Moscow, adopted by Western countries since the start of the war. The goal is to reduce Russia’s ability to conduct the conflict, but success so far has been mixed.
In particular, the EU has prohibited the maritime transport of Russian crude oil (as of December 5, 2022) and petroleum products (as of February 5, 2023) to third countries.
Although the Russian economy is weak, so far it has not collapsed.
According to some experts, this is due, at least in part, to circumvention of these sanctions through third countries.
Source: BFM TV
