US embargos wouldn’t change Russia’s Ukraine policy – Jatras
The US-led sanctions against Russia would not change Moscow’s stance on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, says a former US Senate foreign policy analyst.
In an interview with Press TV from Washington D.C., James Jatras downplayed the efficiency of Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, saying that “these sanctions will not in any ways alter Russia’s behavior.”
The commentator added that the adoption of such punitive measures was a miscalculation on the part of the US-led Western countries.
“One of the keys to the sanctions policy is the notion that Russia has no place else to go and Moscow is isolated. That’s clearly not the case,” he stated.
Jatras also criticized the administration of US President Barack Obama for reigniting Cold War tensions with Russia.
Commenting on Russia’s growing ties with other countries, the analyst said Moscow has already expanded its relations with China, Iran, India and several other countries to counter the negative impact of embargos.
In recent months, Western states have imposed sanctions on Russia, including on its financial and energy sectors, and put a number of Russian nationals close to President Vladimir Putin on sanctions list.
In a tit-for-tat measure, Moscow imposed year-long food bans on the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway in August. The move is estimated to cost European agricultural industries millions of dollars in damages.
The West accuses Moscow of having a hand in the crisis in eastern Ukraine, which erupted when Kiev launched military operations in mid-April to silence pro-Russia protests there. The Kremlin denies the accusation.
The former US Senate foreign policy analyst concluded by saying that the Western policies regarding Ukraine have led to more destruction and bloodshed in the country.
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