The participation in sanctions against Russia will not have such a great impact on Moldova, but the government in Chisinau should explain to society why it does not subscribe to these sanctions, Dionis Cenușa, a political scientist, researcher at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN.
According to the scientist, the Republic of Moldova criticizes what Russia does in Ukraine, but realizes that it needs a political dialogue with Russia. The non-supporting of sanctions is a country strategy and the Republic of Moldova does not subscribes to sanctions as it depends on the import of Russian gas.
Polls show the government loses popularity and, therefore, any decision it adopts, including non-supporting of the sanctions against Russia, should be explained. The worsening of the dialogue between Chisinau and Moscow can lead to an improvement in the parliamentary opposition’s popularity.
More sanctions are needed and these should be imposed on all the banks in Russia and on the Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “The money confiscated in the UK, Switzerland and other states should be distributed to repair the damage caused by the war,” stated Dionis Cenușa.
He noted that the sections against Russia are mostly economic as the behavior of the political elites in Russia can be changed only this way given that the developments in the economy affect their legitimacy and popularity at home.
“That’s why any sanction that is imposed by the United State or the European Union is aimed at profitable sectors of Russia’s economy, sensitive sectors that are connected to the global market as the states became interdependent namely through globalization,” said the expert, noting we should also expect adverse effects with which primarily the EU will have to deal if it wants to maintain the current political regimes of the member states.
“The sanctions imposed against Russia include individual sanctions, political sanctions that refer to the political Russia elites that supported the militarization of the regions in Donbas, which were recognized one day before the start of the war. The European Union imposed sanctions against Russia lawmakers who voted to recognize the independence of the separatist regions and who facilitated Putin’s political decision to wage the war. Putin was also added to the list, together with representatives of the Government, representatives of the Central Bank of Russia, generals. The political, economic and administrative elites of Russia were subject to sanctions so as to discourage the escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” stated Dionis Cenușa.
The public debate entitled “Western sanctions against Russia: reasons, mechanisms of action, effects, position of the Republic of Moldova” was the 231st installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
