国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

Sanctions may ironically lead to US-EU rift

By Yang Cheng | China Daily | Updated: 2017-08-03 07:18

Sanctions may ironically lead to US-EU rift
SHI YU/CHINA DAILY

Russia has demanded the United States cut its diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 by September and could consider taking further action as part of its response to fresh US sanctions approved by Congress. US President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law soon, imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia, Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that were approved by the Senate with an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 97 to 2.

The "overlapping consensus" on the sanctions against the three countries, which primarily targets Russia, supposedly has something to do with the conclusion drawn by US intelligence agencies that Russia "meddled" in last year's US presidential election. It also signals an attempt to limit Trump's diplomatic powers and subject them to congressional approval, particularly when it comes to ties with Moscow.

Even if Trump refuses to sign the sanction bill into law, the Congress can overrule him. In fact, the only way Trump can stall the bill is to propose tougher sanctions against the three countries, a move that risks shrinking Washington's diplomatic leeway in the Middle East and Korean Peninsula issues, as well as plunging US-Russia relations into uncertainty just one month after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg.

There is hardly any similarity between the latest US sanctions against Russia and those imposed by the Barack Obama administration. Unlike Trump, Obama had full presidential authority in devising the country's Russia policy, and his sanction proposals were in line with that of the European Union.

But since domestic political entanglements have necessitated the US' new sanctions, they could strain its ties with the EU. The bill, which aims to penalize companies that contribute to Russia's energy development, could hamper plans for a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany called Nord Stream 2. In response to the US' move, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: "America First cannot mean that Europe's interests come last".

During Obama's presidency, the US-EU sanctions were basically about restricting Russian energy companies' financing channels and blocking their access to key oil production technologies. Moscow is heavily dependent on energy development as are many Russian political and economic heavyweights who run most of the country's oil and gas companies.

Such "smart" sanctions from Washington and Brussels could apply the right amount of pressure on Moscow, without paralyzing EU-Russia energy cooperation or inviting Russian retaliation. After the US appeared to exploit shale gas at home, traditional gas exporters including Qatar decided to explore the European market, slightly reducing the EU's dependence on Russia for energy.

Despite Brussels' pursuit of diversified energy suppliers, it is unlikely to cut its energy ties with Moscow, which explains why some EU leaders are angry at the US Congress's unilateral sanction bill. Tougher sanctions will do little damage to US-Russia trade, which reached just $20 billion last year, but they might deal a major blow to EU-Russia trade, which once reached €338.6 billion ($400.4 billion) before dropping to €191.3 billion last year.

While the US' sanction bill may drive a wedge into the trans-Atlantic alliance, Russia could actually benefit from it by mobilizing support at home. And the resultant rift in Washington-Brussels ties could provide Moscow a moment of relief and enough time to use its diplomatic maneuvers amid toughening sanctions.

The author is a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Shanghai International Studies University.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
桃园县| 吴旗县| 奉化市| 罗山县| 同江市| 邢台市| 瑞丽市| 洞口县| 通化县| 临夏市| 瑞昌市| 台北县| 开封市| 垣曲县| 遵义县| 桦川县| 沿河| 江津市| 东阳市| 白水县| 清远市| 四子王旗| 云龙县| 望奎县| 巴塘县| 曲阳县| 枣庄市| 曲水县| 西青区| 福清市| 合山市| 吉木萨尔县| 贵港市| 凤山市| 陈巴尔虎旗| 广安市| 新平| 五台县| 新田县| 天柱县| 隆林|