World press on western sanctions against Russia (August 5-6, 2014)

Amid the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, world media are discussing the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union, the United States and its allies. Die Zeit published an article by the German federal government's special representative for Russia, Gernot Erler. According to the official, the sanctions will not lead to a successful resolution of the conflict.

"There is no military way out of the conflict," the article reads. "The crisis should be resolved through political process, German diplomats believe." The author shares this approach and stresses that sanctions also will not be effective. "No one believes that the sanctions imposed so far will lead to a serious alteration of Russia's policies. The sanctions only mark the quarrel between Russia and western powers," the author writes.

According to the German official, Russia is doing its best to isolate itself from the rest of the world. "Till now Russia has been treated as an equal partner, despite all the unfriendly moves and severe violations of international law," Gernot Erler writes. "Russia is isolating itself and does not care about the damage caused to its reputation. Maybe that's a result of the fact that the Russian leadership is losing contact with reality and receives information from state-sponsored propaganda," the author writes.

Erler underlines that there is no chance of President Putin giving up the pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine. This means that the only way to prevent further violence is to secure a ceasefire, the author writes. This means that the Ukrainian military should put down their arms, he believes.

The Globe and Mail published an article by Derek Burney and Fen Hampson headlined "Gutless sanctions expose West’s lack of resolve."

"There is more nibble than bite in the most recent round of sanctions levelled against Russia by the European Union, the U.S., and Canada. They will likely do little to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin from the course he has already embarked upon – to destabilize Ukraine with a steady flow of arms, missile launchers, and troops," the article begins.

"Sadly, there is still no evidence of an effective strategy to counter Mr. Putin. Russians, meanwhile, continue to fawn over their “fearless leader” while he exploits the vacillation all too apparent in Western ranks and plays a deadly but popular game of Russian roulette with the country’s economic and political future," the article reads.

"The latest round of sanctions against Russia are pusillanimous or, if you prefer, gutless," the authors of the article write. "Unveiled last Tuesday in joint announcements by U.S. President Barack Obama and the EU after weeks of “agonizing dialogue,” the new sanctions target three of Russia’s state-owned banks, limiting their future access to capital markets in Europe and the United States. They also impose future-oriented, technology licensing restrictions on Russian oil companies that are supposed to thwart Russia’s development of deep offshore and shale oil deposits while also blocking future arms sales. A few more of Mr. Putin’s inner circle have also been added to the West’s no-fly list."

Derek Burney and Fen Hampson note that, as critics point out, the new banking restrictions conveniently leave out Russia’s biggest and most influential lender – OAO Sberbank – which controls most of Russia’s banking assets. Nor are there any restrictions on credit card transactions. Subsidiaries of Russian banks that operate in Europe have also escaped the noose because European financial markets would take a hit.

"Faced with what looks like an imminent Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine and the continuing obstruction of a proper investigation of the Malaysian aircraft disaster, it is time for the West to move beyond baby steps and implement sanctions with bite, along with a major economic aid package and military assistance that makes Ukraine less ripe for the picking. If we cannot decide to punish Russia for violations of international law, we should at least resolve to help Ukraine," the article reads.

"As a matter of priority, the Alliance must take concrete steps to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy. Although North America can’t fill the gap in the short term, allies should consider a joint strategy of energy security and environmental sustainability that will one day see alternative crude and natural gas sales – including North American – to Europe. Canada should move beyond strong rhetoric and take the lead, proposing a summit of North American and European leaders aimed at concluding a coherent strategy to secure the Alliance’s energy future. It is time to show Mr. Putin that both he and Lenin are wrong," the authors conclude.