US sanctions are weapons, not solutions

A man wearing a face mask walks past the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, the United States, Jan 24, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

Economic sanctions are not a modern development. Their first recorded use was in ancient Greece. But despite all the evidence since then showing they are generally ineffective and often counterproductive, the United States has developed a penchant for imposing sanctions on countries as they enable it to act aggressively on the cheap.

By following the US lead in sanctioning Russia, the European Union is abandoning a long-term reliable energy supplier and submitting its energy security to the whim of the US politicians.

Despite Washington's claims, the US' use of sanctions is prompted by self-calculation, not moral purpose.

Even before the current wave of sanctions was imposed on it, Russia was the target of one of the US' most comprehensive programs of sanctions. But the Ukraine crisis has enabled the US to double down on them.

Not only has it provided an excuse for it to increase its own sanctions against Russia but it has also given Washington the opportunity to befuddle the US' allies with the heady liquor of "justice".

In so doing, the US is seeking to take advantage of the Ukraine conflict to maximize its gains, damn the cost to the world.

Always speaking of acting in pursuit of justice, the US is doping the EU into the illusion that they are jointly sacrificing their interests for values, while the US is actually serving its own interests by gaining tremendously from the EU's losses.

The impact on the US and the EU of boycotting Russian oil and natural gas are totally different, as the latter relies on Russia for nearly half of its natural gas consumption and more than a quarter of its oil demand, while the US, an energy exporter, will benefit directly from the rise in energy prices.

The zero-sum game between the US and first the Soviet Union, then Russia, is nothing new. And Europe has always been viewed by the US as a buffer zone and battleground for a proxy war.

Even though most European countries are its allies, the US will not allow them any autonomy in security affairs.

It is high time the EU stopped drinking the US bourbon. The Ukraine crisis, which had been preventable from the very beginning, is nothing but a tragedy the US has orchestrated to stifle the EU's belated awareness of the need for strategic autonomy, and to debilitate Russia.

So many lives are being lost while a hostage is still unconsciously helping the hijacker count the ransom money. The EU is paying to learn the lesson that for the US justice is served not only by the range of its missiles, but also by the scope of its sanctions.

Although Washington casts its sanctions against Russia in the light of morality, they are devoid of the support of international law or authorization. The US has simply weaponized the practice under the pretext of striving for peace.