WASHINGTON, February 25. /TASS/. Some US allies and partners view secondary sanctions over Russia as "an overreach of Washington’s authority," Politico writes, citing sources.
The US administration is increasingly turning to secondary sanctions "to penalize foreign-based entities for doing business with sanctioned Russian entities," the media outlet said.
In December 2023, US President Joe Biden issued an order under which foreign banks, in particular, may lose access to the US financial system if they do business with the Russian defense industry. "Some US allies consider secondary sanctions an overreach of Washington’s authority since it could hit third parties not subject to sanctions," Politico points out.
The media outlet also noted that since the start of its special military operation, Russia had "faced a historic slew of penalties from Washington, Brussels and beyond." "Yet, two years on, Russia’s economy has rebounded. Its factories are humming, its oil and gas sales are relatively strong."
According to Politico, the reason may be that the countries imposing restrictions on Russia "don’t always have the same focus, finances or rules, making enforcement lopsided across allies."
"Politics further complicate the equation: It’s hard for one government to pressure another to stop buying Russian products if it needs that country’s cooperation on other fronts. Washington doesn’t want to strong-arm a potential partner against China like India; Brussels doesn’t want to alienate Turkey in the Middle East," the article says.
According to the media outlet, the effect of Western countries’ move to limit the sale price of Russian oil to $60 per barrel has been blunted, "with Moscow’s flagship export having risen to around $70-$80 a barrel over the past six months." "Analysts warn that now virtually no barrels of Russian crude are being sold below the $60 oil price cap," Politico noted.