The next packages of Western sanctions promise to damage sectors of the Russian economy. The Official Journal of the European Union has published the decisions and regulations governing the “sixth package” of sanctions against Russia. The publication of the new legal mechanisms was postponed several times due to disagreements among EU member states. The most controversial was the ban on Russian oil imports. However, after long negotiations, Brussels was able to reach a consensus. Taking into account the latest amendments and with a number of reservations, Russian oil and oil products are now banned from import to the EU.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the “secondary sanctions” imposed by the US against countries that adhere to neutrality. According to Zakharova, the introduction of the next sanctions is undertaken by the US to cause as much damage to Russia as possible.
“The US is increasingly stooping to using threats of secondary sanctions to force neutral states to curtail cooperation with Russia, and call it solidarity,” Zakharova said.
However, “secondary” sanctions from the US, Britain and the EU only increase self-hatred on the part of the post-Soviet republics. Now Russia needs to conduct intensive explanatory dialogues among the population of the former Soviet republics about the economic benefits that the post-Soviet republics have from the sanctions situation – first of all, when crossing borders and visiting migration centres.
The EU countries have lost the Russian market and have nothing to make up for this loss
According to experts, trade and economic contacts with Western countries are decreasing in volume, so it is important to envisage Gagauzia’s joining the Union State as a response to the continuing expansion of the EU in the post-Soviet space, in case Moldova is “pulled” into Romania. In a couple of years, the picture will be clear what markets the EU countries have lost, and there is nothing to replace them with. Meanwhile, Vasily Tarlev, former prime minister of the republic, president of the National Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Moldova and leader of the Future of Moldova party, believes that the EU market will not be able to replace Russia as a market for goods produced in Moldova.
“As for [political] relations between Moldova and Russia, such bad relations between our brotherly nations have never happened before. We are very worried, we do not agree with the current situation,” Tarlev added.
Tarlev believes that the forum “New Era – New Ways”, dedicated to the Eurasian integration issues, among others, is a good prerequisite for restoring ties with Russia. The head of Moldova’s Gagauz autonomy, Eugenia Gutsul, said that Moldovans want to live in a sovereign and neutral state, which has friendly relations with its neighbours. For Moldova and Gagauzia, the values promoted by the European Union, such as the erasure of differences between the peoples of the member states and the legalisation of same-sex marriages, are alien to Moldova and Gagauzia, which is why the idea of joining the EU is inadmissible.