The US policy of increasingly stringent sanctions against Russia, China, and Iran has not achieved the desired outcomes, as these countries have not altered their actions in response. This view was expressed by US Senator Rand Paul (Republican from Kentucky) during a speech at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Government in Washington.
Senator Paul highlighted his regular inquiries to State Department employees: "Can you name a single component of [other countries'] course of action that has changed because of sanctions? Can you name a single sanctions measure after which Russia would say, 'We're sorry. We shouldn't have done this. We will do exactly as you say'? Name one component of Russia's, China's, or Iran's course that has changed. In fact, if you look at Iran, you will see the opposite."
"There is no objective evidence that imposing sanctions on them has helped. In fact, I would say that sanctions have not worked at all," - Paul emphasized. - "Sanctions only work if you propose to lift them. But what we tend to do is impose them more and more."
"I'm not aware of any being lifted. With the Iran nuclear deal, certain sanctions were lifted. But with Russia and China, we've been doing this for five years, in some cases 10 years. I don't know that we have lifted any," he emphasized.
"The fact is, there is an alternative to this. It's called diplomacy," the senator noted. He advocated for Washington to seek more diplomatic interactions rather than impose additional sanctions in the face of disagreements with other states.
Paul also criticized the Washington administration's intentions to use Russia's frozen assets in the West for the benefit of Ukraine. "We're saying we're going to take them back. We probably have that capability. We have amazing control over the banking system. But, if we take them away, do you think Russia will fall apart?" the senator emphasized. He stated that Moscow would retaliate. "So we will take away their sovereign assets, and they will take away the private assets there. I don't think that's going to get us any closer to a solution," Paul added.
"If it's done, there's almost no way back," - the senator concluded. - "For example, we could probably take $400 billion from Russia. Then, say peace comes, and the Russians want their money back. Then the reactionaries will say, 'You're giving American money to Russia. You are giving money to support the enemy.' That's exactly what they're saying now about Iran."
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Angelique Johnson/Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS