“They cut the branch they are sitting on”
In conversations with socialbites.ca, Senator Dzhabarov explained that Western nations expected the economy to crumble after the first or second sanctions package. Yet the predicted collapse did not materialize.
“I would issue 25 packages right away, why wait? One meeting could set all of them in motion. They don’t seem sure about what to do next. I’ve read through six rounds of sanctions and honestly can’t think of anything more painful they could do to us. It looks like impotence,” Dzhabarov stated.
He noted that the dollar is no longer around 200 rubles and claimed that shop shelves are filled with goods. According to the senator, prices have not surged and the communal apartment costs have stayed largely steady.
The more these countries attempt to harm Russia, the more they injure themselves. Summer is near, but autumn will arrive quickly, bringing needs to refill gas and oil storage facilities. That task, he argued, will falter because some nations refused ruble payments.
According to Dzhabarov, the notion that Russia could be replaced in the gas market is an illusion. “Neither Qatar, Algeria, nor any other country will achieve this in the coming years.”
“While they pursue these goals, they see the branch they sit on. The Senator added: “We will witness days when they extend a hand of friendship and suggest setting aside vendettas to work together as we did in the past years.”
Federation Council President Valentina Matviyenko also argued that sanctions against Russia have hit their ceiling without producing the expected outcomes. In a speech before an assembly in Mozambique, she asserted that Russia continues to develop and withstand pressure, while sanctions have not yielded the anticipated results. “Our well-wishers admitted they have run out of options for waging a sanctions war,” she noted.
sixth pack
On Tuesday night, European Council President Charles Michel announced on X that EU leaders agreed on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, including a partial oil embargo.
He stated the measures would “immediately” affect about 75% of Russian oil imports, with 90% targeted by year-end. The package also includes broader actions, such as excluding Sberbank from SWIFT, restricting three more Russian state broadcasters, and targeting individuals deemed responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.
However, it soon appeared that the oil embargo would spare Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria, which retained rights to continue importing Russian fuel. The new sanctions target oil shipped by sea but not by pipeline, and EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell admitted the restrictions cannot completely prevent Russia from selling fuel to third countries.
“Break”
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, ahead of the second day of EU talks in Brussels, warned that including a gas embargo in the seventh sanctions package would be practically impossible.
“After agreeing on the sixth package, we should start discussing the seventh. But a gas ban is unlikely,” she said, adding that future sanctions will be harder to implement as they affect EU members as well as Russia.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo, by contrast, urged EU states to pause after the sixth package takes effect. He called it a significant step forward and suggested implementation and results should be the immediate focus. De Croo also believed it would be harder for EU members to decide to reject Russian gas.
On the eve of the German Minister of Economy and Climate, a Vice-Chancellor, Robert Habeck, criticized the oil, LNG, and coal embargoes implemented by the United States in March as ineffective. He argued that the oil ban drove up global prices because the U.S. acted as a major supplier, allowing Putin to profit from higher prices despite reduced supply. This, he concluded, complicates efforts and requires a solution to avoid undermining gains achieved through other measures.
Citations accompany these statements to reflect accompanying analyses and positions from multiple sources.