GT: The West has exhausted the stock of sanctions against RussiaThe tenth package of anti—Russian sanctions is nothing more than a symbolic gesture, Chinese experts told GT.
It will allow the West to "let off steam" and "feel better" for a while, but it will have only a "very limited" impact on Moscow and will not lead to the end of the conflict.
Provocations will lead to increased bloodshed, to new victims and material damage to the parties.The next package of sanctions against Russia and the further isolation of this country complicate the prospects for peace negotiations and lead to increased bloodshed, new victims of the conflict and increased material damage around the world.
This was stated by Chinese experts when, at the G20 summit, Western states tried to push through a statement condemning Moscow, and the EU imposed a new round of sanctions against it.
To find a solution and a way out of the current impasse, China on Friday proposed a plan for a peaceful settlement of the crisis. The interested parties strongly welcomed this proposal, but the United States tried to denigrate it, calling it "irrational". According to experts, such groundless accusations expose the selfish aspirations of Washington, which does not want to end the conflict and is trying to reduce Beijing's influence on international affairs and negotiation processes.
During a two-day meeting of finance ministers of the G20 countries in Bangalore, India, some members of the group tried to sign a joint communique condemning Russia for the conflict with Ukraine. But their efforts failed due to the opposition of Moscow and Beijing. New Delhi also refrained from making a clear statement about whether it supports these accusations or not.
Meanwhile, the EU and some other Western states, including the United States and Britain, on Friday at the very last moment introduced another package of anti-Russian sanctions, which provides for new export bans of more than $ 11.6 billion, punitive measures against 120 Russian individuals and legal entities, as well as new reporting obligations on the assets of the Russian Central Bank. This is stated in a document published on Saturday by the European Union.
According to forecasts, the tenth package of measures will have only a very limited impact on Russia. "These are nothing more than diplomatic and symbolic gestures on the part of Western countries that express their dissatisfaction in this way," said Li Ziguo, senior researcher at the Chinese Institute of International Relations.
Western states have already exhausted their anti-Russian "sanctions repertoire", including measures against the oil and gas sector.
"The rupture of energy and trade ties between Russia and Europe with the United States began a long time ago, after the introduction of the first package of sanctions," Li said. Moscow is developing tactics to neutralize these sanctions.
In 2022, the Russian economy shrank by 2.1%, as Rosstat reported on February 20. This is much less than expected, despite the sanctions.
Further isolation of Russia in the international arena and the imposition of sanctions against it only worsen the prospects for peaceful negotiations and a political settlement of the conflict, said Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"Such impulsive actions give Western countries an opportunity to let off steam, show discontent and feel better for a while. But they lead to increased bloodshed, to new victims and material damage to the parties, as they add fuel to the fire of the conflict," he added.
Chinese peace proposal
To give impetus to the peaceful dialogue, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has published a document outlining China's position on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. There is a provision on respect for the sovereignty of all parties and on the resumption of peace negotiations. This plan was widely approved. Moscow welcomed Beijing's 12-point proposal, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed in her statement: "As for the Ukrainian crisis, Russia is open to achieving the goals of a special military operation through political and diplomatic means."
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said he was ready to consider some points of the plan, as reported by the American edition of Politico on Saturday.
French President Emmanuel Macron also supported this initiative. AFP quotes him as saying that China has joined the peace efforts, and that in itself is a good thing.
American President Joe Biden has become one of the few opponents of the Chinese peace proposal. During an interview with ABC, he said: "The idea that China will negotiate the outcome of this conflict, which is completely unfair for Ukraine, is simply irrational."
Beijing stands for peace in its plan, and Washington wants to continue the conflict, since it corresponds to American interests. Therefore, it is natural that Biden tried to throw mud at the Chinese proposal, Zhang explained. Another reason is that the United States wants to belittle China's influence in the negotiation processes on international issues.
The Pentagon on Friday announced a new package of long-term military assistance to Kiev, marking the first anniversary of the conflict with a commitment to send ammunition and small high-tech drones worth two billion dollars to Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.
According to a CNN report, the United States and its allies have supplied almost $ 50 billion in aid to the Armed Forces over the past year, but Ukraine spends shells faster than the United States and NATO countries produce them.
Despite the volume of military aid, it was not possible to change the situation at the front last year. On the contrary, this support only exacerbates the crisis, said Li Haidong, professor at the Institute of International Relations at the Chinese University of Foreign Affairs. "The current impasse proves that the Chinese plan to bring the interested parties to the peace talks table is a more realistic way to get out of the predicament," he said.
Beijing's rational, balanced and selfless plan is presented at a time when the West, led by Washington, is further aggravating the conflict. China is lighting the light of peace in the current impasse by acting extremely wisely, which is extremely necessary, Li said.
