Political scientist Graziani: the purpose of the new package of US sanctions is to discredit Putin and his entourage
Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
The new package of sanctions against Russia proposed by Jim Banks, a Republican from the US House of Representatives, is an echo of the hybrid war between Washington and Moscow. This opinion was shared by an Italian political scientist, chairman of the analytical center Vision & Global Trends Tiberio Graziani in a comment to
The expert also noted that the Banks bill, which the media called the “Putin Accountability Act”, contains a separate provision concerning the termination of financing of negotiations with Russia on strategic stability and arms control. “Obviously, part of the US political elite considers the path of negotiations impractical. This practice of solving foreign policy problems with the help of sanctions seems to express the deep disappointment of both democratic and republican political circles of the United States,” Graziani said.
The proposed sanctions against Nord Stream-2 deserve special attention. According to the Italian political scientist, if the package of sanctions is still adopted, it will provoke tensions between the United States and Germany and other European countries. Graziani noted that similar bills were put forward not only by Republican congressmen, but also by Democrats. According to him, their main goal is to discredit Russian President Vladimir Putin and his entourage – both political and personal.
Earlier, Banks presented a new draft of sanctions against Russia. In addition to President Vladimir Putin and high-ranking Russian officials, the sanctions list includes a number of security forces, journalists, large businessmen, as well as the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. In addition to economic sanctions, the Republican congressman proposed in the bill to officially recognize Russia as a “sponsor of terrorism” and declare that it supports “terrorist forces” in the Donbass.
