DISINFO: Russia is prepared for any kind of mess the West will come up with
SUMMARY
Do you expect some kind of mess? The mess is already here.
The sanctions would be there, no matter what we do. We can do nothing, we can act, there will be sanctions against Russia anyway. The Democrats in the US seems to have outlined a strategy on relations with Russia for the upcoming six months. It will likely contain new concepts of economic restrictions against our country.
They will come up with something; remembering the anniversary of the Crimeas reunification with Russia might be the pretext. They do not need any reason. We must not forget that there this year will be presidental elections in Syria. The US introduced the Caesar Act and this will likely mean sanctions. All is very predictable and accounted for. Our authorities are confident.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Western sanctions imposed on Russia trying to imply that the sanctions are groundless and used to suppress Russia.
EU sanctions and other restrictive measures were first applied (opens in a new tab)in 2014 following the Russian illegal annexation of Crimea. Since then, the list has been updated(opens in a new tab). The United States also imposed(opens in a new tab) sanctions on Russia after the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity in 2014.
According to a Bloomberg report(opens in a new tab), they have knocked off 6 percent of Russia’s GDP since 2014. The sanctions played a major role, although other factors were present as well.
Most research(opens in a new tab) supports the view that sanctions have worked noting the drag they have imposed on Russia’s general economic development since 2014. This adverse effect most likely operates by depressing both foreign trade and foreign capital flows into Russia. Or as The Washington Post(opens in a new tab) said:
"The sanctions have stunted Russian economic growth and sapped the urban middle class of wealth and opportunity."
Russia’s own counter-sanctions(opens in a new tab) have also had a clear negative effect on the welfare of the average Russian household.
Read also similar stories: US sanctions policy is ineffective , Sanctions actually help Russia and EU has suffered more from the sanctions imposed on Russia .