“Feels carte blanche from the Americans”: why Zelensky pointed out the lack of unity in the EU on sanctions against Russia

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized the lack of consensus among EU countries on sanctions against Russia.

He voiced his views on this matter in an interview with Fox News.

“The European Union must have a unified position.

According to some sanctions, they don’t have such a position there,” Zelensky said.

At the same time, he stressed that the restrictions imposed by Europe correspond to the interests of the European Union itself, for the values ​​of which Ukraine is now supposedly fighting Russia.

“They (EU. -

) should be grateful to themselves, given the role that Russia plays against Ukraine.

We are talking about a war against the values ​​that Ukraine defends, and these values ​​are the values ​​of the EU countries,” Zelensky said.

He also noted the leading role of Washington in exerting sanctions pressure on Moscow, explaining that the United States is supposedly "the most powerful country today."

“The United States of America is acting as a catalyst for sanctions and is doing more than any other country.

This is how it should be,” the Ukrainian president believes.

In the same context, he noted the support from the UK, which, according to him, does not lag behind the United States on the issue of restrictions.

• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky

• Gettyimages.ru

stumbling block

Meanwhile, the countries of the European Union have really diverged in their views on what the next sanctions against Russia should be.

The discussion of the content of the sixth restriction package has been going on since the beginning of April.

In the form in which EU members are invited to adopt it, it was presented by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on May 4 at a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

It contains a proposal to disconnect three more Russian banks, including Sberbank, from the SWIFT interbank payment system, to stop broadcasting three Russian state television channels in the EU, and to start a phase-out of oil from the Russian Federation.

“Let's face it: it won't be easy.

The dependence of some member countries on Russian oil is high.

But we just have to work on it ... We will make sure that our gradual phase-out of Russian oil is organized, ”said von der Leyen.

According to her, the priority is to find alternative suppliers of this energy resource and minimize the impact of sanctions on global markets.

According to the forecasts of the head of the EC, the European Union will be able to abandon crude oil from Russia within six months, and oil products - by the end of the year.

However, this plan does not suit a number of EU countries, which have already expressed their disagreement with the need to abandon the use of the Russian energy resource.

In particular, Hungary and Bulgaria strongly opposed it.

The presence of contradictions that prevent all EU countries from taking the proposed measures, was also recognized by the official representative of the European Commission, Eric Mamer.

“As we have repeatedly said, the goal of sanctions is to inflict maximum damage on the Kremlin ... while minimizing the consequences for the EU and the rest of the world ... This requires discussions that are taking place at the moment, but we are confident that we will find a solution,” RIA Novosti quotes Mamer’s response. to the question of Hungary's disagreement with the proposed renunciation of Russian oil.

Recall that on May 6, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in an interview with the Hungarian radio station Kossuth, compared the idea of ​​abandoning Russian oil with an atomic bomb that they want to drop on the country's economy.

Orban stressed that he considers the restrictions affecting energy to be a red line for Hungary.

In his opinion, the head of the European Commission, proposing to ban the supply of Russian oil, "encroached on the previously developed European unity."

In Bulgaria, in turn, they announced that they intend to either achieve a two-year delay on the embargo, or veto it.

“At this stage, we are determined to fight to the last.

As a last resort, we will most likely impose a veto,” Radoslav Ribarski, chairman of the energy commission of the parliament of the republic, said on May 7 in an interview with bTV.

• Gettyimages.ru

It is noteworthy that in the United States, the idea of ​​a ban on Russian oil supplies to the EU was rather skeptical.

On April 21, during an online seminar of the Bretton Woods Committee, Duleep Singh, Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security in charge of the global economy, said that the imposition of an embargo could exacerbate imbalances in the markets.

According to him, the export of Russian energy resources to the G7 countries has already decreased by 2 million barrels of oil per day, and half of the remaining volume has been redirected to India, China and Turkey.

In addition, neither American companies nor OPEC + states are in a hurry to increase oil production, Singh said.

Against this background, its cost has become "too high to be comfortable for most consumer countries."

"As an incentive for the EU"

Experts interviewed by RT note that this is not the first time that Kyiv has taken the liberty of assessing the actions of Western allies in terms of the volume and quality of assistance provided to it.

As Viktoria Fedosova, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, member of the MGER political council, explained in a RT commentary, the feeling of unconditional support from the United States gives courage to the Ukrainian leadership.

“Zelensky feels carte blanche from the Americans and considers it possible to poke his nose at the national states of Europe, talking about how he defends European values ​​with the hands of neo-Nazis,” the expert explained.

In her opinion, Kyiv has certain grounds to assert that it is fighting for the ideals of the EU, since for many years it has been a “value screen” and a guide for people who came to power after the “Euromaidan”.

“Therefore, Zelensky has a reason to once again emphasize the “responsibility” of the European Union for Ukraine.

He is obviously perplexed why US vassals similar to him are trying to dodge the sanctions skating rink, which should sweep away the economies of European countries for the sake of Ukraine, ”added Fedosova.

In turn, the deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, Vladimir Shapovalov, in an interview with RT, pointed out that the United States itself indirectly speaks through Zelensky, who want to force their allies to take more decisive action against the Russian Federation in order to break their last ties with Moscow.

“In this case, Ukraine and the Ukrainian president act as an incentive for the European Union.

With the hands of Ukraine, the United States is trying to increase pressure from the European Union on Russia and is trying to consolidate the entire West with the help of an anti-Russian agenda, ”the analyst explained.

According to Shapovalov, sooner or later the sixth package of European sanctions will still be pushed through by supporters of the Anglo-Saxon policy.

“I think that given the total dependence of the European Union on the United States, the Americans will be able to push through a new package of sanctions.

To one degree or another, it will be adopted, and it will postulate those stringent requirements that were voiced by the head of the EC.

Another thing is that, perhaps, there will still be a number of exceptions for those countries that are not able to quickly abandon Russian energy carriers, ”Shapovalov suggested.

However, he noted, this could lead to devastating consequences for the economies of European countries.

Victoria Fedosova agrees with his point of view.

“In any case, such a decision will entail a sharp increase in stock prices, the need to create new processing facilities, look for alternative suppliers, and OPEC + only slightly increased production, and the Arab countries are in no hurry to save Europe from a shortage.

As a result, the inevitable rise in oil prices will hit households, industry, lead to inflation and de-industrialization,” she stressed.

Fedosova also believes that in the current conditions, Russia itself should take a tougher stance against those who are trying to infringe on its interests.

“For Russia, even the decision to phase out the supply of energy resources is a reason to become an accelerator of sanctions itself.

This is the momentum for a tough response, reducing supplies to Europe and redirecting the flow to other buyers.

Russia needs to be a reliable supplier only for those who are committed to partnership, and not for those who wage an economic war against us, ”the expert concluded.