Political analysts say sanctions against Russia are not plausible

It is unlikely for the European Union to impose financial and economic sanctions against Russia, most experts questioned by the Interfax news agency believe. „Sanctions against Russia are useless, in my opinion. There will be no economic sanctions, only moral sanctions”, said Alexander Rahr, expert in the German Foreign Policy Council.

In Rahr’s opinion, the main European states will not support the idea of imposing economic sanctions against Russia, after 20 years of constructing excellent relations. The politics expert doubts that the business environment, which saw important profits in the past 15-20 years from the relationship with Russia, would accept to quit these relations. Such sanctions would affect both Russia and the European states.

Germany, Italy and France have giant companies acting on the Russian market. Poland and the Baltic states have less economic exchanges and may demand sanctions.

At the same time, not imposing sanctions is a decision that should not be misunderstood, the analyst says. It is wrong to believe that the EU is so divided that one may play on the Old Europe / New Europe idea.

On his turn, the Russia Foreign Policy Council chairman, Sergey Karaganov, estimated that there could not be about serious sanctions, may only symbolic ones.

The French presidency convoked an extraordinary meeting of the European Council on Monday, dedicated to discussing the Georgia situation, after a series of states demanded the adoption of sanctions against Russia.