MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The European Union is considering its 12th package of sanctions against Russia; the Israel-Hamas conflict may spread to other corners of the Middle East; and US President Joe Biden is likely to veto the Republicans’ Israeli aid bill if it fails to include funds for Ukraine. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: EU eyes yet more anti-Russian sanctions even as policy impairs unity
The European Union is on the verge of rolling out its 12th package of sanctions against Russia. The new restrictions could cover diamonds, aluminum and a new list of dual-use goods. According to media reports, the text of the latest EU sanctions package could be sent to member states next week. Experts told Nezavisimaya Gazeta, however, that unanimity is a rare commodity among EU member states as each new set of sanctions only seems to widen the rifts among them.
Exports of welding machines, chemicals, defense technologies and software licenses to Russia may be restricted. Metals and aluminum products may be excluded from the list of Russian imports. Restrictions are also being considered that would enable monitoring of Moscow’s compliance with the $60 per barrel oil price cap. The package is also expected to focus on additional restrictions on supplies of dual-use goods.
According to Nadezhda Arbatova, head of European Political Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS), the EU’s policy of anti-Russian sanctions is now driven solely by inertia and has taken on a life of its own that is totally divorced from reality. Having set the sanctions war in motion, the European Union is already incapable of bringing it to an end, no matter what concrete results it may or may not produce. "The current EU sanctions are just a box to tick off on Brussels’ to-do list, without any hope of bringing about any immediate changes," she told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
The expert stressed that each new sanctions package only serves to widen the divide within the European Union itself, pitting the interests of individual member states against each other. "There may be varying assessments of how sanctions have impacted the lives of European citizens, but it is obvious that they are undermining the unity of the European Union [as a whole], which is necessary for the development of integration projects. The sanctions policy essentially cannot replace a strategy that should be based on a sober cost-benefit analysis of each [contemplated] action," the expert added.
Izvestia: Israel-Hamas conflict may spread to other corners of Middle East
Israel may carry out retaliatory strikes on strategic areas in Yemen from which fighters of the Houthi movement (officially known as Ansar Allah, or Supporters of God) launch missiles at the Jewish state, experts believe. Saudi Arabia, which has previously intercepted missiles fired by Ansar Allah, a pro-Iranian Yemeni organization, is also expected to respond with military action. However, many believe that Riyadh will not take dramatic measures in the current situation, as fighting the Houthis could be interpreted as lending support to Israel, Izvestia writes.
Experts believe that further deterioration of the situation will have a greater impact on energy markets and rising stock prices. They are confident that if the situation escalates further, the Israeli navy will respond immediately, Izvestia writes....
ТАСС 02.11.2023, 10:14 MSK