ArmInfo.In Ukraine, Russia and the USA will get what they want, the political engineer Vigen Hakobyan said in an interview with ArmInfo.
"Without ruling out the possibility of agreements between Moscow and Washington on the prospects of war in Ukraine, I would like to note that some of the European states made their last-ditch attempts to prevent a bloody war in Ukraine. In this context, we should state that, unlike the USA, the EU was more willing to agree with Russia to prevent - through cooperation - the developments from reaching the point of no return. The reason is that European interests are not identical to those of the USA," he said.
As regards the prospects of the US and EU sanctions against Russia, Mr Hakobyan thinks that, after preparing for the Ukraine crisis for a rather long period, Moscow could forecast the range of sanctions, including the redlines. In this context, he stresses the anti-Russian sanctions are selective. Specifically, Russian banks are being disconnected from SWIFT, whereas Gazprom, which is of vital importance for the EU, is not.
The amount of Russian gas supplied to Europe via Ukraine's territory has reached its historical maximum since the military operation was launched. This is evidence of Europe's growing demand for Russian gas, which, according to him, can be accounted for by the current uncertain situation in Ukraine.
The goal of the western sanctions against Russia is more exerting psychological pressure to cause discontent with Russia's foreign policy and with the sanctions-caused discomfort inside Russia.
"All the social strata must feel this discomfort - from the political elite to rural population. The sanctions are intended for Russian citizens to feel all the 'amenities of life' as a result of the war in Ukraine. That is why the West has imposed sanctions not only on Russian oligarchs, but also on Russian students receiving higher education in the USA and Europe, for them to feel and express their discontent," Mr Hakobyan said.