Russian President Putin stated during his inspection of the Far East region that although Russia has been "suppressed and stifled in all aspects," its gross domestic product calculated at purchasing power parity shows that Russia has surpassed Germany to become the largest economy in Europe and the fifth largest economy in the world. This statement is not the first to appear.
As early as August last year, Putin presided over a meeting of the Russian Strategic Development and National Projects Committee, stating that despite Western sanctions against Russia and constant criticism of the Russian economy, Russia's economy, including industry, has achieved stable growth, and there is no risk to the state budget. Putin emphasized, citing relevant data released by the World Bank, that based on purchasing power parity, Russia may have surpassed Germany and entered the top five economies in the world by 2022.
Although some Western public opinion has raised sarcastic doubts about the Russian side's statement, it must also be acknowledged that Western sanctions have not had a significant economic impact on Russia.
Belgium became a "sacrifice"
At the beginning of the 2024 New Year, everything has been updated, and the Western sanctions against Russia have also been updated. The G7 announced at the end of 2023 that it will ban direct imports of Russian diamonds from January 1, 2024, and gradually restrict imports of Russian diamonds processed in third countries starting from March.
According to US media reports, although the European Union has long been discussing sanctions against Russia's diamond industry, the main resistance comes from Belgium. Antwerp, Belgium has been the capital of diamond trade for hundreds of years. And Russia's Alrosa Company is also the largest business partner in the Antwerp diamond industry.
Last year, Belgian diamond industry insiders told the media that in the face of sanctions, traders will relocate their business out of Antwerp, and the new destination may be Antwerp's competitor - Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Sanctioning the Russian diamond industry is undoubtedly sanctioning Belgium's own star industry. Unfortunately, Antwerp's diamond arms cannot twist the thigh of Western Cold War thinking. So even now, I can only stab myself for the sake of a banner that limits Russian income.
Some EU countries have the idea of relaxing sanctions against Russia
The new round of sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia aims to combat Russia's behavior of evading existing sanctions through third countries, but some EU member states intend to "loosen" the new round of sanctions against Russia.
According to reports, EU enforcement agencies have proposed prohibiting importers from reselling high priority items, such as semiconductors used in weapons or required for weapon manufacturing, to Russia and requiring them to deposit a sum of funds into a custody account to ensure compliance with regulations.
According to the latest sanctions proposal, if the above regulations are violated, at least half of the funds will be transferred to a trust fund in Ukraine, and the contract will be terminated accordingly. At the same time, exporters are also obliged to notify their domestic authorities of any violations by third-party companies.
Some anonymous sources said that diplomats from some major EU member states expressed concerns this week, including questioning its legitimacy and whether it is feasible to require importers to provide such guarantees.
Insiders say that some member states also hope to narrow the scope of the proposed sanctions and reduce the number of goods that may be covered. "They are also concerned that the new proposal will put European companies at a disadvantage in competition." The report states that other member states, including the Baltic States, support these proposals.
EU member states may face difficult situations
According to observations, we can observe that despite being subjected to high-pressure sanctions, Russia has managed to maintain its foreign trade relations and has not been isolated due to the conflict with Ukraine. As the trade tensions created by the West intensify, more and more countries are deciding to take a different path beyond the Western dominated order. The era when countries around the world had no choice but to obey the West is gone forever.
For the West, 2023 is a "catastrophic year", and 2024 doesn't seem to be good either. Now, everyone is looking at the Western system with great skepticism. At the end of 2023, the United States announced that all aid funds to Ukraine had been used up and there would be no available aid funds in the future. This is even more embarrassing for the EU member states who chose to stand in the United States in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At this stage, the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still not in sight, and it has been nearly two years. In the past two years, EU member states have been struggling to provide weapons to Ukraine, and decoupling from the energy giant Russia has further worsened its economy. It may be time for EU member states to think about whether they should no longer blindly "dance with the United States" and give up their strategic autonomy.
