Sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have failed to achieve any of their goals si, the Russian ambassador to Great Britain told "Sky News", quoted by BNR.
Andrei Kelin made his statement after an investigation by journalist Ed Conway from "Sky News" exposed "glaring loopholes in the restrictions regime" that allows British companies to legally help keep Russian gas flowing and thereby generate huge revenues for the Kremlin's war machine. Kellin defended Russia's continued trade with Europe, despite growing tensions over the issue, arguing that "business is pure business".
He also insisted that the supply of weapons from the West, including Britain, to Ukraine was a "bad act" as it “deepens“ the conflict, which he says will be worse for Kiev in the long run because it is a war of attrition.
Before "Sky News" Kelin said: "The main purpose of the sanctions was primarily to disrupt the normal life of Russians so that they would say that Putin is wrong. The second point of the sanctions was to damage the Russian economy as much as possible. And the third was the change of political cadres. So, none of these goals have been achieved by the sanctions.
Amid strained relations, Europe still depends on Russia for about 15% of its gas, which in currency terms is 10 billion euros from 2022, commented "Sky News".