Sanctions imposed against Russia for its recent recognition of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states look impressive at this stage of escalation, while they are expected to become tougher if situation gets worse,” Giorgi Gobronidze, professor at the European University and an international relations specialist has told Front News.
He noted that nothing has ended with the recognition of the regions as independent countries by Russia.
“Just on the contrary, the fight for Ukraine is starting now,” Gobronidze said.
He stated that the illegal recognition of the regions by Russia is the initial step taken by the country to return Ukraine to its orbit.
“Moscow is determined to return the whole Ukraine to the Russian orbit. This is confirmed by the statements made by the president of Russia which have contained many alarming messages, including questions about the statehood of Ukraine. Putin noted that Ukraine could be considered a state named after Vladimir Ilyich and practically blamed Lenin’s wrong policy for the country’s presence,” Gobronidze said.
“We have seen a fairly rapid reaction from the West. These sanctions look quite impressive at this stage of the escalation. Of course, if the situation gets more complicated, the sanctions will also get tougher. But the recent statements have already affected Russia much, costing billions of dollars. Of course, Russia will try to prove that the sanctions will not hurt it, but this is not the case,” Gobrinidze said.He stated that the sanctions will not lead to the collapse of the Russian economy. However, they will harm the country much and will hit the pockets of the country’s citizens.
Gobronidze stated that Russia’s aggressive policy has led to the consolidation of the West and the further strengthening of NATO.
