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Press TV has conducted an interview with James Petras, Professor Emeritus, Birmingham University, New York about Vladimir Putin’s statement that EU sanctions against Russia is ‘divorced from reality’. 

- Russia has called the recent sanctions as ‘divorced from reality’. And this is how many analysts have looked at this situation saying that these sanctions are only going to exacerbate the tensions around Ukraine. What do you make of it?

- I think one has to go back to the source of this crisis to understand the Russian statement.

Prior to the coup d’état and the violent seizure of power, the Russians and the US and the European Union had come to agreement about a power-sharing agreement between the elected President Yanukovych and the opposition.

Subsequent to that the street mobs seized power; installed an unelected government – a dictatorial junta; and Russia then proceeded to support the Crimean population who were fearful of the repressive policies that might emanate from Kiev.

The Russian move to support Crimea was suddenly the target of sanctions when indeed the sanctions should have been directed at the Kiev government for violently seizing power and I think this is what the Russian government is referring to.

They have reversed the roles – Russia’s support for the Crimea has been interpreted as a violation of international law; and the Kiev coup d’état and the unelected junta has been given legitimacy. I think this is what it means to be divorced from reality. The sanctions should have been applied to Kiev.

The referendum - the free election that was held in Crimea - should have been recognized within international law as a legal right for a region with distinct characteristics to separate and form their own government and decide with whom they wish to associate.

- Where do we go from here now? As the US imposes sanctions and so does the EU on Russian officials. How does this situation calm down again or are we going to see a vicious cycle of tit for tat moves between the West and Russia?

- So far it’s been unilateral more or less the US and the EU administering sanctions against leading Russian officials and a major Russian bank, which has repercussions, but it has repercussions on both sides.

I think Obama is oblivious to the consequences of the economic effects, especially on the European Union and further moves to escalate, which is on the White House agenda, will simply exacerbate.

I’m fearful that Obama is on a role that they’ve seized control of the Ukraine proposing to turn it into a NATO satellite and I think the understanding in Washington is that only the use of force will have an impact on Russia.

This is a disastrous prescription for a new cold war.