Economic crisis on the background of anti-Russian sanctions threatens soon to destroy already fragile Western coalition in support of Kiev regime, historian and expert on international relations Robert English writes in his article for The National Interest magazine.
In the opinion of the author, the US and the countries of the European Union have repeatedly underestimated Russia’s actions, which has often led to unpleasant consequences for them. The columnist recalled how economic reforms of the 2000s were written off as luck because of rising energy prices, while protectionist measures taken by Vladimir Putin in 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, were considered untenable in the West.
“With such a track record of underestimating Russia’s resilience, it is not surprising that many have succumbed to arrogance in the expectation of a quick stranglehold on it. To be fair, the measures taken were unprecedented. <…> Russian banks were excluded from the SWIFT international payments system and Russian reserves worth over $600 billion were frozen. They were supposed to stifle Russian trade, but it turned out that Moscow was ready,” the author stated.
The current authorities in Europe have forgotten the importance of Russia for the global energy market and have announced plans to stop importing oil and gas from it. “Fine,” the Kremlin responded, “we can accelerate your transition to new sources of energy by reducing the gas supplies we are sending you right now. To which the European Union responded in a panic: “Wait, we won’t be so ready to hurt you by stopping gas imports until 2026! You’re blackmailing us!” – the author bitterly joked.
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