Bloomberg, citing European diplomats and officials, reported that a number of large EU countries are opposed to planning anti-Russian sanctions in light of the Kremlin's alleged "invasion" of Ukraine.
"Germany, France, Italy and Spain want to focus on dialogue with Moscow before setting out the details of the painful economic measures they might initiate," the agency writes.
At the same time, as the newspaper notes, the new restrictions "may include steps to remove large Russian banks from the Western financial system, as well as a potential obligation on the part of Germany not to commission the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2."
In this regard, the EU believes that it is better to wait for any concrete actions on the part of Moscow and react upon the fact.
“According to senior EU officials, it is argued that waiting for Putin's actions and only then reacting decisively by taking concrete measures appropriate to the situation will be more effective than setting out all possible options (sanctions. -
RT
)
too early
, risking that some of them will not be used, ”the agency notes.
In addition, as reported by Bloomberg, not all EU countries share the US conviction that Russia is indeed planning an "invasion" of Ukraine.
According to sources, a number of EU member states believe that the current "build-up" of Russian military forces is a "pressure tactic" that, in their opinion, is working successfully.
Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
AP
© Julien Warnand
At the same time, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, said that the European Union is ready to expand sanctions against Russia in the event of an escalation of the situation in Ukraine.
“We worked closely with the United States and other partners on options for action.
We are ready.
There are a number of economic sanctions in the financial, energy and defense sectors, as well as dual-use goods.
Our response to any further aggression could take the form of an active tightening and expansion of these existing sanctions.
And, of course, we are ready to take additional unprecedented measures that will have serious consequences for Russia, ”she said.
At the same time, the politician noted that the EU wants good relations with Moscow.
Persuasion by force
It is noteworthy that Bloomberg is not the first media outlets to which "informed sources" are told about the distrust of a number of European countries in the allegations of Moscow's allegedly planned aggression against Kiev. So, on December 5, the Financial Times published an article in which it was argued that Washington had to make serious efforts to convince its European allies that Russia could prepare an "offensive military operation" in Ukraine.
At the same time, in early November, after the Western media published information about the alleged concentration of Russian troops on the border, the Ukrainian military for some time argued that, according to their intelligence, there was no concentration of Russian forces on the border.
In particular, this was mentioned in the message of the Ministry of Defense of the country on November 1, and then this information was confirmed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Serhiy Shaptala.
However, on November 10, President Vladimir Zelensky agreed with the information provided by Western partners about the alleged "concentration" of Russian military forces on the border.
At the same time, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on December 14 that the number of Russian soldiers who, according to him, are at the border, does not pose a threat to Ukraine.
Ukrainian border guard
globallookpress.com
© Keystone Press Agency
The right to defense
Moscow has repeatedly stated that no plans to "invade" Ukraine are being hatched.
As Vladimir Putin noted on December 8, Russia is pursuing a peaceful foreign policy.
At the same time, he stressed that the Russian Federation reserves the right to ensure its security in the medium and long term.
"And we are discussing this with our partners, with all our partners, including ... US President Mr. Biden," the Russian President said on December 8 at a press conference following talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
A serviceman of the Russian Armed Forces during the distribution of tanks to prepare for participation in the competitions of the international army games "Tank Biathlon" and "Meridian" in the Patriot military-patriotic park
RIA News
© Alexey Maishev
The Russian Foreign Ministry also spoke about the unrealistic nature of the "Russian attack" on Ukraine.
Thus, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in an interview with RIA Novosti noted that the United States is unreasonably fixated on the idea of "Russian aggression" and is trying to interfere in the internal affairs of Russia.
“The Americans are inexplicably fixated on the idea that there is a threat of a“ Russian invasion ”of Ukraine.
This is not and cannot be.
And what we are doing on our territory simply does not concern them, they have neither the moral nor the political right to raise the issue in such a plane, "Ryabkov said on December 13.
In turn, the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov noted that instead of pressure on Moscow, the West should turn its attention to Ukraine's actions and call it to account for non-compliance with the Minsk agreements.
“We would welcome a call to Kiev to fulfill the obligations it has under the Minsk agreements.
Even more, we would welcome the call to Kiev that the peaceful settlement of this internal Ukrainian problem is uncontested ... But, unfortunately, we do not see such statements either, "Peskov told reporters, commenting on the appeal of G7 representatives to Moscow demanding to de-escalate the situation around Ukraine.
A blow to ourselves
Experts interviewed by RT believe that the leading EU countries may be cautious about sanctions, since these measures will hit them themselves.
“The sanctions imposed by the Americans, and then imposed by the European countries in their image and likeness, very painfully hit these countries economically.
And the restrictions have already reached the point where they are already causing bilateral damage.
And if for the United States this effect is not so significant, then for the countries of Europe, Germany, in particular, which interacts with Russia on a number of issues, it is significant, "political analyst Alexander Asafov explained in an interview with RT.
In addition, the analyst noted that, in general, Europe is aware that the sanctions policy of the West, and especially the buildup of military forces, will force Russia to resist, or at least to take steps that would equalize the balance of power.
“If we continue to act in the track of warming up anti-Russian hysteria, this will lead to the deployment of additional NATO weapons near the borders of Russia, which Moscow will regard as a threat to itself and will be forced to take action.
Therefore, rocking the story with a probable "attack" of the Russian Federation on Ukraine seems not only absurd, but also dangerous, which is understood in large European countries, in connection with which they are trying to somehow defuse this situation, "Asafov added.
In turn, Pavel Feldman, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN University, noted the cunning position of the countries listed by Bloomberg.
According to him, it is convenient for them to shift the responsibility for the lack of dialogue with Moscow onto the collective “I” of the European Union, since despite all their economic independence, they are also politically dependent on the United States.
EU flag
globallookpress.com
© Xinhua / Zheng Huansong
“When it comes to real political issues, they (the leading EU countries. -
RT
) appeal to Brussels and say that they are not supporters of sanctions, but some supranational leadership in the face of the European bureaucracy.
A legitimate question arises as to why they obey this leadership and do not defend their position at the level of Brussels.
So these countries, if they really adhere to the line of establishing a dialogue with Russia, need to move from statements to actions, and not cave in under the dictatorship of Washington and Brussels, "Feldman said in a commentary on RT.
At the same time, the expert noted, the new package of restrictions may remain at the level of threats, since Europe binds its introduction to the fact of committing "aggression" that Russia is allegedly preparing against Ukraine.
“But nothing of the kind is foreseen in the near future, since Moscow is not going to“ invade ”anywhere.
Therefore, if suddenly additional sanctions from the EU are introduced despite the inaction of the Russian Federation on the “Ukrainian front”, then they will be illogical and will be met with harsh retaliatory measures from Russia, ”Feldman summed up.