White House Expects ‘Strong’ EU Sanctions Against Russia

Will Focus on Arms Sector, Aiming to Harm Exports

According to White House officials, the Obama Administration believes the European Union will agree to “strong sanctions” against Russia in the coming days, with a focus primarily on the arms sector and financial sector.

Reports out of Europe in recent days have shown a reluctance to hit bigger sectors, like Russia’s giant energy sector, for fear that it will damage European economies far more than Russia’s.

The US is pushing sanctions to “punish” Russia for backing east Ukrainian separatists, and they are expected to keep pushing for more sanctions irrespective of whether or not the current ones are implemented.

The arms sector is likely not to be significantly impacted by EU sanctions, as Russia is basically self-sufficient internally for arms, and very few of their exports actually go to EU member nations.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.