MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti) – The United States and the European Union expected to bring Russia to negotiating table by imposing new sanctions, but their move will only lead to Moscow introducing countermeasures and create a strained environment for future talks on lifting sanctions and establishing peace in Ukraine, William Pomeranz, the Deputy Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. told RIA Novosti on Saturday.
“The sanctions from the EU’s point are clearly leverage to make sure that Russia [is] constantly at the negotiating table. The difficulty with the sanctions is once they are in place, in reality they are very difficult to remove,” Pomeranz said.
The US and EU imposed sanctions against Russia on Friday over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. Sanctions are to be removed, if the situation in Ukraine improves. Russia has denied its role in Ukraine, calling on Kiev authorities and militias to solve the country’s internal problems on their own
“So it remains unclear not only how long this ceasefire has to hold, but how the negotiations between Ukraine and the separatist regions go along before the sanctions are removed. So, in fact, it still may be a long time before the sanctions, this fourth round of sanctions, are removed,” Pomeranz added.
The United States and the European Union are likely to face Russia’s countermeasures, the expert said.
“We anticipate that Russia now introduces a new round of sanctions in light of what the EU and the United States [did] … At some point, when there is stability in Eastern Ukraine, we will begin the process of unraveling these sanctions. And since no one knows how long it will take, all the parties will be required to reach that level we can talk about removing some of these sanctions. It will have to be on both sides,” Pomeranz said.
The new round of Western restrictions target Russian banking, oil and defense sectors. The sanctions complicate access to EU and US credit for a number of key Russian banks and oil and defense companies. In addition, they banned the provision of technical and other assistance to Russian companies in oil exploration and production, specifically in the areas of Arctic Sea drilling and shale oil projects.
Russian President Putin labeled the sanctions as counterproductive and ineffective, while both EU and American officials suggested that the sanctions could be reviewed, reevaluated and removed if the situation in Ukraine improves.
