By Vestnik Kavkaza
The American edition of the Washington Post is writing today about sanctions, and whether they are productive or not, in an article "Does the Obama administration really understand how economic sanctions work?" In recent months, the US national security policy sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea occupy a significant place. However, the question is whether sanctions have any effect? Do they bring more benefit or harm? Is this an effective method for the US of combating undesirable foreign policy players? The US administration spreads the idea that official sanctions deter business entities from countries against which the sanctions are imposed. However, by themselves, the most powerful sanctions in the world will not force Russia to change its policy, and Iran to completely abandon its nuclear program. They may force these countries to make some concessions, but do not change their basic course. In the United States itself it has begun to be realized that the sanctions will not be helpful, but rather harmful to the world economy as a whole. European companies lose markets, and the assumption that sanctions against certain countries will be a warning to other countries does not seem to work. To summarize, it is obvious that with the help of sanctions it is impossible to manage policies in such countries as Russia, Iran or North Korea. Pressure only creates tensions and creates an additional source of conflict in the world community. But is the Obama administration ready to admit it?
The UK edition of the Guardian writes today about Iran in an article "Obama questions Iran's desire to achieve nuclear deal". The president of the United States does not believe that Iran really wants to reach a consensus in the negotiations on its nuclear program. It all depends on the decision of the government of Iran, whether it agrees or not to the conditions that are imposed by the US and other countries' negotiators. Two terms for a permanent agreement to be signed in relation to Iran's nuclear program have already passed, and skepticism about the intentions of Tehran is growing. Meanwhile, pressure is growing in the US Congress, where the Republicans actively support new sanctions against Iran. However, the restricting factor is President Obama himself, who rightly believes that further sanctions will only aggravate the confusion in the negotiating process. The Iranian side, in turn, believes that it is better not to negotiate than to agree to terms that are not acceptable for the country
The American news portal Examiner.com wrote about the possibility of trilateral cooperation between Russia, Greece and Turkey in an article entitled " Russia could be the glue between Turkey and Greece through non-dollar trade"
Relations between Russia and Turkey continue to evolve at a tremendous speed, while the other partner of Russia is going through hard times. Greece, though in crisis, is ready to cooperate, and Russia, in its turn, is ready to provide any necessary support in order to get a reliable partner. Turkey, in its turn, is ready to cooperate with Greece and solve all the problems and issues, including territorial ones. All three partners are interested in creating an economic trade zone, which would not depend on the dollar. This could be one of the necessary platforms on which the economies of the three countries will be able to evolve and interact. The first step on the road to economic cooperation could be a contract between Greece and Turkey on oil in the disputed Aegean Sea. Russia, in its turn, in the first stage can be a mediator for the two neighboring countries.
