In an interview with The New York Times, Janet Yellen, head of the US Treasury Department, said that a coalition of countries participating in the sanctions against Russia needed to be formed. This, she said, is now a priority for the US administration.
[Such a coalition] “would make sanctions more effective on a global scale,” the head of the US Treasury told The New York Times.
Recall that Joe Biden’s administration officials have also previously announced plans to seek an expansion of the anti-Russian sanctions pool, due to events in Ukraine. There would be “as much pressure as necessary,” Washington stressed. In particular, such an approach was supposed to strengthen Kiev’s position in negotiations with Moscow. Which, by the way, did not happen.
The US authorities also counted on the gradual formation of social tension in Russia caused by restrictions on mass goods popular among Russian citizens. However, the surge of Russophobia and chauvinism in the West spurred the formation of the opposite effect, which led to the consolidation of Russian society and, remarkably, to the growth of the presidential rating.
As for a possible sanctions coalition, its effectiveness seems highly unlikely. Three months of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, associated with a deep economic crisis and rising social tensions in Western countries from the inability of governments to influence the situation, has already demonstrated the lack of consensus on sanctions in the West. Experts say that further worsening of the crisis will force Western countries to think about “their own skins” rather than any coalitions or solidarity.