In the spotlight: economic sanctions imposed on Russia
Audio 05:27
Military trucks drive down a street outside Donetsk, the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants, in eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved
Text by: Anne Cantener Follow
5 mins
Advertising
Read more
Most newspapers return to the economic sanctions imposed on Russia.
A first series of measures, before perhaps cracking down again soon.
What the free
Metro
newspaper in London sums up, quite colorfully, when speaking of Vladimir Putin: “
Take it by the roubles.
»
The Western press is rather unanimous on this question of sanctions, on the other hand the newspapers do not all have the same interpretation of Russian ambitions.
The Australian
is adamant: "
After Ukraine, Mr. Putin's attention will turn to the Baltic States, then to Poland, then to the other former Soviet satellites, until Russia once again becomes the lord of the country. "
'Eastern Europe.
»
This is not the analysis of the Italian newspaper
La Repubblica
, for which “
Putin's objective is not a re-edition of the Soviet Union.
Today's pole star is imperial ambition.
An “imperialist nationalism”.
From Ukraine to the Mediterranean, from Syria to Libya, from Central Africa to the Sahel.
A challenge unprecedented since the end of the Cold War,
which the great Western democracies must take up with firmness and determination.
»
Advantage to Vladimir Putin
The
Süddeutsche Zeitung
warns: the Russian president “
wants to impose a new order on Europe.
For this, he is ready to go to war and impose enormous sacrifices on the continent.
»
In the same vein, the
New York Times
believes that the Russian president has a whole series of assets on his side.
First, his appetite: "
Putin wants Ukraine under his control much more than the West wants to keep Ukraine in its orbit, and he is ready to pay a higher price to obtain it
", writes the newspaper.
Then, his attention spans: “
Putin has methodically set himself the goal of bringing Ukraine back into his fold since at least 2004. For the West, Ukraine is another complex crisis that he will eventually tire of.
»
Last advantage of the Russian president, his will: “
Putin wants to change the geopolitical order of Europe and is ready to take big risks to achieve this.
The Biden administration wants to preserve a
wobbly and increasingly inert
status quo .
And the
New York Times
concludes: “
Luck tends to favor the bold.
»
A Western response deemed disappointing
The Israeli daily
Haaretz
is harsh.
“
This is so far a failure of Joe Biden's campaign to limit Putin's room for manoeuvre.
It is also a failure of French President Emmanuel Macron's presumptuous attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis by building a new "European security architecture" in coordination with the Kremlin.
It should be clear now to all Western leaders, whatever their strategy
,
that Putin does not live or operate in a reality they recognize.
»
The Russian president who wishes, according to the newspaper
The Australian
, to have only one interlocutor anyway: “
The United States, as opposed to the other NATO countries which are geographically closer to Russia.
This reflects the Russian leader's worldview that world affairs should be settled by the great powers, of which Russia is a part.
NATO is seen as simply run by Washington.
»
The daily
Le Devoir
uses geography and history to better understand the situation.
The Canadian newspaper explains that “
Russia has always felt geopolitically threatened on the side of its northern plains, from the Baltic Sea to Germany via Poland.
From his point of view, Ukraine acts as a buffer zone between the West (in fact NATO) and the Russian Empire.
Moreover, etymologically, "Ukraine" means a march, a stronghold in a border area responsible for defending neighboring territories.
»
another actor
China is providing quiet support to Moscow for now.
China in ambush with an eye on Taiwan, according to the Swiss newspaper
Le Temps
, which warns: "
The scenario, still improbable a year or two ago, of a double offensive, initially in Ukraine and Taiwan in a second, can no longer be taken lightly.
This is the nightmare of Pentagon strategists and a hypothesis that Europeans can no longer ignore.
It is fueled by recurring statements from Beijing and Moscow that the democratic world is bankrupt.
»
Moreover, the
South China Morning Post
tells us that the Taiwan authorities take the threat very seriously.
The island's president “
ordered the armed and security forces to intensify their surveillance, to remain attentive to military activities in the region and to strengthen combat readiness.
»
The danger of mega-fires
In the midst of all this, information goes unnoticed when it concerns all continents.
The
New York Times
is talking about it.
The United Nations has just published for the first time a very detailed report on the risk of forest fires: very devastating fires could increase by 57% by the end of the century.
Throughout the article, photos that recall the destructive force of fires and the powerlessness to contain them in the United States, India or South Africa.
“
Global warming is turning landscapes into a powder keg
,” writes the
New York Times
and, like everything about climate change, the risks will not be the same for everyone.
Especially since for the moment many governments have it all wrong: they focus on the fight against fires instead of concentrating on the management of forests.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Newspaper
Ukraine
Russia
China
Taiwan
Environment
On the same subject
Ukrainian crisis: what diplomatic channels does Vladimir Putin have left?
Ukraine: near the front line, the village of Pavlopil scarred by the fighting
French press review
Featured: Is Putin Crazy?