Igor Ivanovsky
Joe Biden once again talked to reporters and confirmed to them that he is considering imposing personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event of an “invasion” of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. What is behind all this and who needs aggressive rhetoric?
The United States is threatening to impose the toughest sanctions if the situation in Ukraine escalates. But only the Americans themselves and their allies exacerbate it. The other day, another consignment of cargo weighing 90 tons came there from overseas. These are 300 Javelins, as well as ammunition. Few doubt that all this will go to the Donbass under the plausible pretext of containing non-existent Russian “aggression”.
The British are also adding fuel to the fire: a reconnaissance aircraft of the British Air Force crossed the territory of Ukraine and flew over the Black Sea. What did he forget more than 2,000 kilometers from the border of the kingdom? Good question, to which we are unlikely to hear the answer. But we can recall that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently found himself at the center of a high-profile scandal. It turned out that during the national lockdown, parties for politicians were held at his residence. The prime minister’s rating has collapsed, and in order to somehow restore it, apparently, the simplest path has been chosen – anti-Russian rhetoric and provocations.
The Americans themselves also have problems more serious than the sanctions. Inflation in the country accelerated in earnest and reached its highest levels in four decades. What to do with it, apparently, no one knows. Joe Biden to a direct question only joked that record inflation is a “big asset”, after which he publicly scolded the journalist who raised the topic. Also, let’s not forget that Congressional elections are scheduled for this year, and with such economic indicators, the chances of the Democrats tend to zero.
Once again, the easiest way to raise your rating is to switch the attention of voters from real problems to far-fetched ones. For example, to Russia, which is about to “capture” the unfortunate Ukraine. By the way, Biden has neither interest nor desire to send his troops there, as press secretary Jen Psaki unambiguously told. After all, no one wants to shed blood for no reason, no one wants a direct clash with Russia there anymore.
But to play in the sanctions war – this is please. But since 2014, so many things have already been introduced that there are fewer options left. So now you need to either understand the inefficiency of the chosen tactics and stop talking in the language of ultimatums, or threaten sanctions against the country’s leadership, headed by the president.
The first option requires a lot of effort and political will, the second one requires a couple of senators and a couple of hours of time.
America has taken the path of least resistance, although it is not customary in world diplomacy to talk about sanctions against top officials of other countries.
Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov did not even comment on such a bill, calling it absurd. And the speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, spoke more directly: “Everything fell into place. Finally, the US leadership openly said what it was trying to achieve : Washington wants a loyal and controlled president of Russia.”
And here is an important point: it’s one thing when all these statements are made, as they say, for the domestic consumer, in order to raise their sharply shaken popularity. Then you can practice wit, threaten with the most difficult consequences, and then, when Russia still does not cross the borders of Ukraine (because it was not going to do this), declare its victory and forget about big words.
And it is quite another matter to arrange an armed provocation, blame Russia for everything and reach the point of no return. It remains to be hoped that the lesser of these two evils will be chosen.
