VLADIMIR PUTIN has been forced to admit that the West’s attempt to isolate Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine has been “partially successful.”
Just over a month after Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of his neighbouring country, the Kremlin was forced to admit that it was taken aback by the severity of the sanctions imposed on it and that it had been cut off from the rest of the world. However, it warned that Russia’s damage from further severing ties with the West would be limited, given the opportunity to forge stronger ties with other nations.
According to Reuters, the Kremlin acknowledged this week that efforts to isolate Russia had been “partially effective.”
However, it was added that they would eventually fail due to the other partnerships Moscow can form.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, if the West succeeds in booting Russia out of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, “nothing terrible” will happen.
“The G20 format is important,” he told reporters, “but in the current circumstances, when most of the participants are in an economic war with us, nothing terrible will happen.”
The Kremlin acknowledged this week, according to Reuters, that efforts to isolate Russia had been “partially effective.”
However, it was added that they would eventually fail due to other partnerships that Moscow could form.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, if the West is successful in kicking Russia out of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, “nothing terrible” will occur.
“The G20 format is important,” he told reporters, “but nothing terrible will happen in the current circumstances, when the majority of the participants are in an economic war with us.”
“Clearly, there is a need to rebuild trust between the West and Middle Eastern nations, but I do not believe Middle Eastern nations would take any steps that would exacerbate already strained relations.”
“This requires a concerted effort on the part of the UK and other Western nations to repair relations with our traditional Middle Eastern allies,” he added.
This comes after Moscow expressed surprise at the extent to which the West sanctioned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the sanctioning of Russia’s central banks “thievery,” because it prevented Russia from accessing much of its own money (and, consequently, Russian civilians – far removed from the war efforts – from theirs).
He said: “When they [froze] the central bank reserves, nobody who was predicting what sanctions the West would pass could have pictured that.
“It’s just thievery.”
But the sanctions are starting to bite in the West, too.
The EU has been forced to offer up to 400,000 euros (£333,000) in assistance to businesses affected by Russia sanctions.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has also warned that “as a result of our sanctions, we will face some economic hardship.”
However, she stated that this would be “nothing” in comparison to the suffering of those in Ukraine.
