Western leaders admit that sanctions did not stop Putin, but “surprised” him

Evropeyska Pravda – Monday, 7 March 2022, 18:39

Prime Ministers of the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands stated today that it is the courage of the Ukrainian resistance which inspires them to introduce stricter sanctions on Russia.

Source: press conference after the meeting of prime ministers in London, Evropeyska Pravda

Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, acknowledged that it is impossible to talk about the effectiveness of sanctions at the moment, as their impact will become more noticeable over time.

"Sanctions have really had no effect yet. They put pressure on Russia – first and foremost on the leadership, but also, inevitably, on ordinary Russians. And I am sure that in the long run they will affect Russia, where it is heading.

But I absolutely agree that now in the short term, sanctions are not stopping the invasion," Rutte said.

According to Boris Johnson, the main factor stopping Russia is the Ukrainian people’s courage to resist. "Putin underestimated the courage and determination of Ukrainians, their leadership, as well as our [Western] unity," he added.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has agreed that the actions of the Ukrainian people have encouraged a decisive decision on strengthening sanctions. "The courage of Ukrainians inspires us to put as much pressure on Putin as we can," he said.

However, Trudeau stressed that the sanctions –although they have not stopped the aggression so far– are already strong enough to influence Russia.

"See for yourself – there is SWIFT, there are sanctions against the central bank, other sanctions– what a week ago no one thought would even be discussed. And they have all been implemented. It surprised Putin. And I admit that it also surprised us about how united we can be in the West," said the Canadian prime minister.

According to reports, the EU is currently preparing a new round of sanctions, in particular targeting Russian ports and ships.

At the same time, oil and gas supplies from Russia were removed from sanctions due to the question of Europe’s energy security.