At a summit of the BRICS nations in India on 17 October, Russian president Vladimir Putin defiantly stated that Western powers could “screw themselves” over the threat of more sanctions against his country. Earlier the US and the UK had threatened to slap additional measures on Russia over its relentless bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo. Putin is eager to show to the world that sanctions have little impact on his country and that the West is primarily scoring an own goal by holding on to them.
The Kremlin’s most recent moves with regard to the so-called humanitarian pause in Aleppo however betray that Russia is keen to see sanctions lifted writes Sijbren de Jong in his latest column for EUobserver.
The full article can be read here.
The article was also republished by the Kyiv Post.
The article was also featured in ‘the Morning Vertical‘; Radio Free Europe’s daily Russia brief.
Photo credit: greg westfall. via Foter.com / CC BY
