Joe Biden has been threatening Moscow with economic sanctions if Russia hits Ukraine. However, one Russian diplomat just declared Putin “doesn’t give a sh*t” about sanctions.
After a report by German magazine Der Spiegel claimed Putin will launch an invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, Biden spoke with the Russian autocrat over the phone on Saturday.
Ready to Attack Ukraine, Regardless of Sanction Threat
As Ukraine is not a member of the NATO alliance, the Biden administration ruled out intervening militarily, in the case of a potential Russian invasion.
However, the US and other Western nations threatened Moscow with even more severe economic sanctions if it attacks, including shutting Russia out of SWIFT, the international banking network.
While the Western sanctions over Crimea and Donbas hurt the Russian economy, the Putin regime itself doesn’t seem to have been affected.
A veteran Russian diplomat on Saturday declared Putin doesn’t care about the threat of further Western sanctions. The diplomat in question, Viktor Tatarintsev, the Russian Ambassador to Sweden, actually was far more explicit.
Russia's ambassador to Sweden tells @Aftonbladet: "Excuse my language, but we don't give a shit about western sanctions"https://t.co/LlkFlOoJVg
— max seddon (@maxseddon) February 13, 2022
'We shit on Western sanctions,' Russian ambassador to Sweden said. That's all you need to know about diplomatic talks with Russia. But what they're saying is the opposite of what it means: sanctions are the only way to prevent the escalation (+ sending defense weapons to Ukraine)
— Iryna Matviyishyn (@IMatviyishyn) February 13, 2022
Sanctions Aren’t That Bad, Russia Claims
Tatarintsev said Russia has been subjected to so many sanctions, they’ve had a positive effect on Russian agriculture and the economy.
He expressed his view that while sanctions are nothing positive, they aren’t nearly as bad as Western nations are portraying them.
Tatarintsev argued Russia has become much more “self-sufficient,” thanks to the 2014 sanctions and managed to boost its exports.
For example, he explained even though Russians no longer have Swiss or Italian cheeses, they are now using Swiss and Italian recipes to make their own cheese.
Moscow’s Ambassador to Sweden then resorted to a well-known propaganda argument that Russian officials have been using since before Soviet times: namely, that the West doesn’t understand the mentality of the Russians.
He argued Russia’s response is proportionate to the Western pressure; never mind that it was Putin who, in 2014, attacked Ukraine, a sovereign state.
Also, Putin is now amassing troops at the borders simply because the Ukrainians no longer wish to be the victims of Russian cronyism, oligarchy, and an autocrat’s crazy whims.
Tatarintsev further insisted that Moscow is actually seeking to avoid a war; therefore, it is the last thing that the Russian people want. Reportedly, it is the most sincere wish of the Russian leadership.
Never mind that all the saber-rattling has come precisely out of Russia. The sanctions, however, that the West is presently considering imposing on Moscow, in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, are much more wide-ranging.
They would target both companies and individuals in various economic sections. Even Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s secret wealth abroad wouldn’t be off-limits and his wealth is estimated to be about $200 billion.
There is a lot of current discussion about the types of severe sanctions that the US would place on Russia in the event of invasion, but not as much about how Russia can hit back at the US and European economies in response 🧵
— Dmitri Alperovitch (@DAlperovitch) February 12, 2022
Ukraine today suffers:
– huge economic losses caused by Russian threat, incl issues w insuring businesses, sea blockade, turning into "no-fly zone";
– cyberattacks;
– terrorization campaign etc.Russia: "will face the toughest sanctions ever". But don't touch SWIFT!
— Olena Halushka (@OlenaHalushka) February 13, 2022
