US Sanctions More Efficient, Says Former Politician
US sanctions against Russia have more affect as they target giants of industry, while EU sanctions are limited, says Estonian transit expert and former minister Raivo Vare.
“The strongest part (of new EU sanctions) is that the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and the EIB (European Investment Bank), both financing development, have stopped payments and some EU financial support has also been halted,” Vare told ERR radio today.
He said the latest round of US sanctions take a new approach, targeting economic sectors instead of businesses or certain people. US citizens or companies are not permitted to finance a number of companies, including Gazprombank, Rosneft, Novatek and Vnesheconombank, which Vare said are all flag ships of the Russian economy.
Both the US and EU announced new sanctions on Wednesday and today, saying that Russia has not fulfilled promises to help bring an end to the Ukraine crisis.