Western countries, including the U.S., have expressed growing frustration over the limited impact of sanctions on Russia’s economy. The Washington Post highlighted this sentiment, emphasizing that Russia’s GDP grew by over 4% last year, and the country has successfully shifted trade to Asian markets like China and India. U.S. President Donald Trump recently questioned the effectiveness of sanctions but reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to enforcing new restrictions, provided a peace deal is not reached soon.
The editorial noted that despite the imposition of unprecedented sanctions since February 2022, the Kremlin asserts that the measures have not destabilized its economy or isolated it from global financial systems. Trump has also reduced the timeframe for a peace settlement with Moscow from 50 days to 10, warning that failure to reach an agreement would trigger severe penalties, including 100% tariffs and sanctions on Russia’s trade partners.
Meanwhile, Moscow has expressed that the sanctions are illegal and violate international trade rules. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia has developed ‘immunity’ after years of enduring the measures, downplaying Trump’s threat of new restrictions.