The European Union introduced a ninth package of sanctions against Russia in December, including new export controls and banking, broadcasting, consulting, and energy sector restrictions. The West has now leveled over 13,000 sanctions against Moscow – more than against Iran, Syria, North Korea, Belarus, Venezuela and Myanmar combined.
Anti-Russian sanctions aren’t having the devastating effect the West hoped they would, and haven’t served to collapse Russia’s economy, German media have reported, citing economic data for the current year and projections for 2023.
According to Deutschlandfunk, the sanctions “weapon” the West has opted for in its “economic war” against Moscow have not yielded the hoped for results, with the International Monetary Fund revising projections issued in the spring of an 8-9 percent drop in Russian GDP to a more modest contraction of 3.5 percent.
“Some economists thought the thick end would not arrive until 2023. But the forecasts for the coming year as not as gloomy as one might expect,” the outlet continued, pointing to an IMF forecast from October that the Russian economy would shrink by 2.3 percent in the coming year.
Unfortunately for the brainiacs behind anti-Russian sanctions, “all forecasts agree that the Russian economy will not be brought to its knees by sanctions in the next year, either,” Deutschlandfunk added.
German media attributed Russia’s resilience to the global jump in oil and gas prices, which have allowed Moscow to make good money even off reduced export volumes of its hydrocarbons after Western countries reduced imports. On top of that, the outlet pointed out that while a handful of foreign companies left Russia this year, “most stayed,” while others sold their businesses to Russian nationals, who have continued operations.
Furthermore, in areas where Western companies or products have disappeared, Russian importers have stepped in to replace them, often via so-called parallel imports (i.e. goods imported by unlicensed distributors). “In other words, something is always missing in Russia, including on the store shelves, but usually not completely and not for long.”
Deutschlandfunk expressed hopes that the dragging out of the conflict in Ukraine would cause Russia the economic pain that sanctions apparently haven’t, including worker shortages due to partial mobilization, and more spending on defense and security as opposed to sectors like infrastructure or education. “And that can cost the Russian economy a lot of strength in the long term,” the outlet concluded.
The European Union put together a new package of sanctions against Russia in mid-December. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the restrictions would inevitably boomerang back on Brussels and add to the bloc’s social and economic woes, just as earlier sanctions have.
The EU is hanging on the brink of recession, with most economists predicting that the majority of the bloc’s economies will plunge into the red sometime in the coming year. Latvia became the first EU country to go into recession in October, with Estonia following suit in November. More nations, including regional heavyweight Germany, are expected to join the tiny Baltic economies as the impact of Europe's largely self-inflicted energy crisis makes itself felt.
Italy Ready to Become Guarantor of Peace Agreement on Ukraine - Prime Minister
Italy is ready to act as a guarantor of a possible peace agreement on Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.
"There are difficulties in guaranteeing the peace process later, so I have told [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky that Italy is ready to become a guarantor of a possible peace agreement and is ready to assist in this process," Meloni told at a press conference.
In this regard, the Italian prime minister also announced her intention to visit Kiev before the end of February 2023, since "February 24 may become the date by which something can be done as part of an open initiative."
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