GENEVA, March 27. /TASS/. If the European Union maintains or strengthens sanctions against Russia, their impact will be even lower than it has been so far, Vasily Astrov, economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Research (WIIW) told the Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) portal.
When asked whether the EU will be able to exert more pressure on Russia through new sanctions, the expert noted that the community has "very few levers of influence" on Russia. "And now that the United States is likely to no longer support the current policy of sanctions, the room for maneuver in European politics will become even smaller," Astrov believes.
"Of course, Europe can keep the sanctions program, but I think it will be even less effective than before," he added.
According to Astrov, Western sanctions against Russia as a whole have not worked, since the countries of the global South, including China, India and Turkey, have not joined them. He pointed out that the impact of Western sanctions is "quite limited" for the Russian economy as a whole.
On March 27, European Council President Antonio Costa said that at the summit in Paris on Thursday he would call on the EU member states to maintain sanctions against Russia. Earlier, the Euractiv portal, citing European diplomats, reported that the EU does not intend to amend the sanctions regime against Russia any time soon or to allow Russian banks to connect to the SWIFT system. According to the portal, this may complicate the implementation of the agreements reached by Russia and the United States during consultations in Saudi Arabia.
Following consultations in Riyadh, Russia and the United States agreed to implement the Black Sea initiative, including ensuring safety of navigation. The Black Sea agreements will come into force after sanctions against Russian banks that trade in agricultural products and mineral fertilizers are lifted.