EU powerless in face of U.S. sanctions on Russia and Iran: expert

EU powerless in face of U.S. sanctions on Russia and Iran: expert – Tehran%20Times

TEHRAN – A consultant in European and international affairs believes that the EU is absent and powerless when it comes to U.S. unilateral sanctions against other countries.

“The position of the European Union is absent and powerless on the American sanctions against Russia and Iran because it does not have considerable power,” Ludovic Zanker tells the Tehran%20Times.

 “The European Union is obliged to ally itself with the United States to be heard and to follow sanction policy against Russia and Iran. Just take away the United States, the European Union has no authority, its decisions are inaudible,” Zanker notes.

Russia-U.S. relations have gone through many ups and downs over the past decades. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Washington spared no effort to establish itself as a global hegemon through waging wars and imposing sanctions against its rivals. 

Meanwhile, many European states have preferred to follow U.S. policies or play a marginal role in the new world order. 

Many critics say that the EU, despite its economic weight, is dependent on the U.S. in the terms of military and security. 

“The European Union is dependent on the United States on certain issues, including Russia in the case of the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, but also the presence of military troops in Dombass,” Zanker remarks.
Following is the text of the interview:

Q:    How do you assess Russia-U.S. disputes under the Putin-Biden presidencies? Is there a strategic rivalry or an economic competition?

A: The differences between Russia and the United States under the chairmanship of Biden and Putin have important consequences in relations both diplomatic and political, but also economic.

To answer your question, there is a strategic position between Biden and Putin, the balance of power both diplomatically and economically. On the diplomatic level, tensions are not at a standstill, following a cyber-attack from Moscow. Similarly for Russia, the Kremlin has also decided to expel American diplomats on their soil.

Economically, Russia will be a little weaker, but it will resist these U.S. sanctions. For the United States, it will lose an important partner because Russia remains an important country in the military and also economically.

Q:  How do you read the launch of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline? What are its implications for the U.S and the EU?

A: The pipeline is a real boon for Russia, President Putin gains points by attacking Europe and the United States on this angle. Because through the construction of this pipeline, the credibility of the Russian SpoutnikV vaccine is also at stake, which is recognized as reliable in many countries. For Russia, this project will bring billions of euros.

The involvement of the United States is to overturn the project with regard to Russia, following the Russian troops present in the Dombass in Ukraine. The Kremlin denies wanting to reconquer other territories in the country. But the United States is playing to find other strategies to sanction Putin’s Russia more strongly.

For Europe, the involvement is limited, because this project concerns Germany more because the end of the work ends in the German Sea. As a result, German Chancellor Merkel does not share Biden’s sanctions to cancel this construction, at least not to finish the work. However, Germany won the case against the United States, the project could be completed, the Russian president succeeded in giving guarantees to the chancellor. Russian military troops withdrew into Ukrainian territory, part of the military.

Q: Do you think great powers, such as Russia and China, can form a coalition to confront U.S. influence in Asia?

A: Yes, in a fictitious policy, but in reality, this will not happen, because Putin has other more strategic ambitions, Russia will not be able to detach itself from the European Union, because for Europe, Russia is an indisputable and important partner, but for Russia too. If Russia turns its back on the European Union definitively, it will make a coalition with China, it could have a real major problem.

China could be a very powerful dominatrix, but it could manipulate and have control over Russia, Europe would be powerless and inaudible, isolated from all. The United States would be in an open panic, both economically and diplomatically, not to mention militarily. While relations between Russia and the United States are strained, reason always trumps the good and not the danger.

Q: How do you assess the EU’s postures when it comes to U.S. sanctions against Russia and Iran? Apparently, EU’s political stances are not independent?

A: The position of the European Union is absent and powerless on the American sanctions against Russia and Iran because it does not have considerable power, the European Union is obliged to ally itself with the United States to be heard and to extend the strong sanctions against Russia and Iran. Just take away the United States, the European Union has no authority, its decisions are inaudible.

To answer your second question, the European Union is dependent on the United States on certain issues, including Russia in the case of the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, but also the presence of military troops in Dombass. For Iran, there are disputes over Iran’s nuclear program, human rights and press freedom.

Q: What are the effects of U.S. sanctions on China and Russia’s economy?

A: The decision comes against a background of a sharp deterioration in relations between China and the United States, rivals in the economic and technological spheres and opposites on a multitude of subjects (Hong Kong, human rights, technologies, coronavirus crisis in particular). We again urge the United States to immediately correct its mistake and remove unreasonable restrictions on the activities of the Chinese embassy and its US-based staff,” Zhao Lijian said.

This confrontation between the two world powers took on the appearance of a new Cold War in July with the forced closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, against a backdrop of espionage charges. China responded by ordering the U.S. consulate in Chengdu (southwest) to close a few days apart. Sanctions on the Chinese economy by the Americans.

As for sanctions against Russia, the experts interviewed by the Russian daily believe that the new U.S. sanctions should not significantly affect the Russian economy. “Unlike the years 2014-2018, the Russian economy is more prepared for this kind of challenge,” says Andrei Roussetski of BKS Financial, for example.

However, Ivan Timofeev, program director of the Russian Council for International Affairs, warns: “This time, Moscow is no longer facing routine sanctions, but a major new decree.” And the Kremlin cannot turn a blind eye to this. “The possibilities of a local resumption of relations as a result of the change in U.S. administration are exhausted,” the expert says. This will further solidify the rapprochement between Russia and China, but will also lead to a hardening of Moscow’s positions in Syria and on the Iranian nuclear issue. Sanctions on the Russian economy by the Americans.



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