Russian President Vladimir Putin recently criticized the sanctions imposed on Moscow by the EU in response to Russia’s actions in the conflict in Donbas. According to him, these are a hidden form of protectionism, adding that only the commercial relations based on uniform norms and standards can stimulate the growth of the world economy and can support the progressive development of the intergovernmental relations. The authors of a new Sic! article say these assertions are at least surprising, given the previous actions of the Kremlin. As 66.6% of Moldovans say they trust Vladimir Putin, while his actions often affect Moldova as well, the authors contrasted his official aspirations and the reality.
The article says that even if Vladimir Putin complains about the unilateral sanctions and asks for uniform norms and standards, since his coming to power until now, Moscow didn’t hesitate to use the commercial bans as a diplomatic weapon. The authors enumerate a number of cases, including the ban on the import of wines from Moldova and Georgia of 2006, the ‘milk war’ with Belarus of 2009, the ban on the import of wine and fruit from Moldova and the ban on the import of milk products from Lithuania of 2013.
According to the authors, even if Putin accuses the EU of using the penalties against Russia as a hidden protectionism measure and says he is in favor of free trade, earlier Putin and Medvedev used projectionist arguments to justify their opposition to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements between the Eastern Partnership members and the EU. The Kremlin said that when such states as Moldova and Georgia sign free trade agreements with the EU, they would be like Trojan horses by which the Russian market would be invaded by European products. Thus, the same protectionism that is criticized now by Putin was openly used as a pretext for the bans against these countries. It is ridiculous that such a big market as the Russian one will have to be protected from the invasion of products from such small countries as Georgia or Moldova. The real reasons are political in character.
When Russia is the target for sanctions, Vladimir Putin turns into an ardent critic of protectionism. In relation to the EU, the Russian leader pretends not to understand the real reasons of the sanctions, such as Russia’s involvement in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, with serious violations of human rights and international norms. It is easier to negotiate in terms of economic logic rather than to face the real problem – a war caused and maintained by the Kremlin, says the Sic! article.
The full article can be read on sic.md. Sic! is a project implemented by IPN News Agency with financial support from the Black Sea Trust.
