Former Russian president reveals what ‘sanctions’ would mean for the world

Sanctions that the western nations have been continuously imposing against Russia since the start of its military operation in Ukraine only further erode the existing system of international institutions and the authority of the UN, Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, has said in a Telegram post on Friday.

Initially, the word ‘sanctions’ has only been applicable to measures imposed by the UN Security Council, he has argued, adding that everything the western nations call “sanctions” today is nothing but some unilateral restrictions as cannot be seen as “sanctions” under the international law.

“This is nothing but infringement on the Russian Federation’s sovereign rights committed by certain nations and blocs,” he has said, slamming the western sanctions as “illegal.” The “unprecedented scale” of the western restrictions against Moscow would only lead to the “collapse of all international institutions and primarily the UN,” Medvedev, who is currently the deputy head of the Russian security council, has warned.

Any further restrictions could also put the very system of international relations “in a dead end,” since relations between many nations would either be downgraded or broken up completely, Medvedev has argued.

The former president has also said that sanctions can be viewed as nothing short of aggression since they are “aimed at disrupting a nation’s economic independence and, thus, its sovereignty.”

“In essence, … it is a declaration of an economic war,” he has added, warning that such actions warrant self-defense measures by the affected nation.

“No one should doubt that Russia would use its right [for self-defense] though any means it deems necessary,” he has said. Yet, such restrictions are still doomed to fail in reaching their stated goal, i.e weakening Russia, the ex-president believes, adding that they are only likely to make Russians rally behind the nation’s leaders and consider those, who imposed the sanctions, “Russia’s enemies.”

“The result [of sanctions] will be the destroyed world order and extremely heavy consequences for the global economy,” Medvedev has warned, adding that, by that time, “it will be clear to everyone that the supposed effectiveness of sanctions is an absolute lie.”

His comments came as the EU announced a fresh batch of sanctions against Russia. Earlier on Friday, the bloc has said it would impose penalties against financial and trade sectors as well as an embargo on Russian coal. Oil and gas exports remained unaffected. On Thursday, Russia was also suspended from the UN Human Rights Council.

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