Saks: Sanctions against Russia ineffective and contrary to international law

Washington[(US], January 31: Professor of Columbia University in the USA, Jeffrey Sachs, said today in a discussion with the president of the Center for International Cooperation and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), VukJeremić, that the American sanctions against Russia are against international law, ineffective, and that they were supported by the countries in which he lives only 20 percent of the planet's population, while the vast majority of the world refused to impose sanctions on Russia." Sanctions against Russia not only did not cripple the Russian economy, but also had a 'boomerang effect'. They caused major negative global consequences, and Russia did not stop exporting around the world. Sanctions have greatly harmed Europe, because it no longer has access to cheap energy for industry," said Saks in the discussion "The Winter of Our Discontent" organized by CIRSD, held at the Metropol Hotel.
Sachs said that the sanctions were first introduced by the "Anglo-Saxon part of the world" - the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and then by the EU, Japan and South Korea and Singapore.
"And that's it. The rest of the world has refused to join the sanctions because they want to continue to trade with both Russia and Ukraine. They don't want to be part of a conflict that they feel has to end through negotiations. So most of the world doesn't he does not agree with the sanctions against Russia, nor does he agree with the idea that one country just makes a decision on sanctions against another country and then, without any legal basis, tells others to stop trading with the country it has imposed sanctions on. This cannot be done," he said. is Saks.
Saks added that China, India, all Asian countries and Latin America trade with Russia, and they do not want to be part of a "proxy war".
"They don't see that war the way the Americans thought they would see it - as an unprovoked attack. I've talked to leaders around the world and they understand very well that it's a conflict between two superpowers, Russia and the US, and that it's not just one party responsible," Saks said.
Saks pointed out that sanctions are "almost never successful in a geopolitical sense."
"It's a cheap and easy policy that America has been implementing for years, and which again and again does not bring results. America often uses sanctions because no money is allocated for them from the budget, but they can do a lot of damage, and they do not require public debate and the approval of the US Congress . The public doesn't really understand what it's about, but who cares. Sanctions are introduced with the signature of the US president, which is different from sanctions approved by the United Nations," said Sachs.
Saks stated that there is no doubt that "there is an ongoing war between America and Russia, even though Ukrainian citizens are being killed."
"Weapons, intelligence, war financing - everything is provided by America and its allies, so it's a war between America and Russia, and that's not good because it's about nuclear superpowers. Contrary to American propaganda, which claims that 'Mad Vladimir "Putin' started the war in February 2022 for no reason, the facts show that the war started in February 2014," said Saks.
"The cause is, among other things, America's intention to introduce Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, which was said in 2008 by the then President of the USA, George Bush. That was not wise, but really stupid," added Saks.
Saks reminded that the West's promise to Russia that NATO would not expand "even an inch to the east" after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that America had broken that promise.
"There is no neutrality in the minds of Americans, only 'you're with us or you're against us'. In 2014, America helped overthrow former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who balanced between the US and Russia. That's when the war began. Until 2021 "America has invested billions of dollars in arming Ukraine. The fortification of eastern Ukraine has lasted for eight years with the help of American money, weapons and know-how," Saks said.
Saks stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the end of 2021 that the Americans had crossed all the red lines, and that Russia's red line was "stopping the expansion of NATO and setting up military bases on the border with Russia and weapons that can affects Russia and that it is necessary to discuss it".
"The response from the White House was that there was nothing to talk about and that America was certainly not going to talk to Russia about NATO expansion, and then Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. The war broke out because of the growing conflict of the previous 30 years and, unfortunately, a lot of cheating by America," Saks said.
Saks stated that, in his opinion, it is possible to stop the war in Ukraine if Ukraine commits to being militarily neutral and not joining NATO, if Russia keeps Crimea and if the Donbass region in the east of Ukraine gets autonomy.
Jeremic said that some historians and politicians in the previous year compared the war in Ukraine with the Korean War from the 1950s.
"It was the first 'hot conflict' that broke out during the Cold War," Jeremic said.
Jeremic added that, if this logic is followed, the war in Ukraine could have been the first "hot conflict of the second cold war", in which the main belligerents are the US and China.
"Viewed from Serbia, it seems that the division that is emerging in the world is not as binary as it seemed that it could be, because coalitions are emerging that could be linked to regional powers, but they could also cooperate with each other from time to time. ", Jeremic said.
The gathering was attended by journalist LjiljanaSmajlović, former ambassador to the FRY William Montgomery, writer MuharemBazdulj, professors Slobodan Samardžić and Milo Lompar, president of the Democratic Party Zoran Lutovac, professor BojanPajtić, former governor of the NBS DejanŠoškić, former Serbian ambassador to the USA Ivan Vujacić, analyst MišaĐurković, former ambassador of the FRY in Mexico VesnaPešić, MPs, representatives of the diplomatic corps, journalists and public figures.
Source: Beta News Agency