Countries across the globe have crippled the Russian economy over the past week with sanctions aimed at dissuading Russian President Vladimir Putin from continuing his military invasion of Ukraine.
But some leaders have chosen not to join the international effort to hamper Russia due to their complicated relationships with Moscow, ranging from financial ties to strategic national security considerations.
The United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand have all imposed aggressive sanctions against most of Russia’s financial sector and layers of the country’s richest and most powerful people.
RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS BEING DISRUPTED EVEN WITHOUT SANCTIONS
Alexis Mrachek, research associate for Russia and Eurasia at the Heritage Foundation, said the sanctions from Western countries are already dramatically affecting Russia’s economy.
“Certainly, if other countries were to join in, that would make a larger impact,” Mrachek told the Washington Examiner. “I think it’s important for the U.S. and the West to isolate Russia as much as possible with sanctions to really show [the Russians] that the West is going to hold them accountable.”
Here are some of the countries that have not yet joined the global effort to implement crushing sanctions.
INDIA
India abstained from voting in a United Nations Security Council effort on Friday to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Putin on Thursday, breaking with Western leaders who have ended any efforts to engage the Russian president directly amid the violence.
India has not supported the West’s package of sanctions and has reportedly sought ways to continue trading with Russia despite Russia’s removal from international financial institutions.
The balancing act reflects India’s delicate efforts to maintain its relationship with Russia, which is a key energy provider and trading partner, and preserve its ties to the U.S. and other Western countries.
Russia has provided support to India in disputes with Pakistan and China, hampering India’s ability to push back on the Kremlin.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The United Arab Emirates abstained from voting at the U.N. Security Council on Friday, joining China and India in their refusal to condemn Russia’s aggression, although it did vote to reprimand Russia in the U.N. General Assembly’s vote on Wednesday.
UAE’s leaders have issued careful statements that have stopped short of criticizing the Kremlin directly.
One senior UAE official said taking sides in the conflict could lead to more violence. The country is in line with others in the Persian Gulf region that have avoided standing against Russia due to business ties.
The UAE has an important trade and tourism relationship with Russia, and its renewed ties with Syria’s leadership, which Russia has backed, have also reportedly complicated its calculations about whether to stand with the West against Russia.
Like some other Middle Eastern countries declining to impose sanctions, UAE’s leaders are not facing the kind of pressure from the public to stand against Putin that Western leaders are confronting, according to the Middle East Institute.
Other Middle Eastern countries, however, have gone further in criticizing Russia’s incursion.
Lebanon, for example, issued a statement condemning the invasion in a move that surprised Russian officials.
ISRAEL
Israeli leaders have stopped short of taking the kinds of aggressive steps to counter Russia that its Western allies have taken, while still lashing out at the Kremlin’s decision to invade.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid last week described the attacks in Ukraine as “a serious violation of the international order.”
But Israel reportedly rejected requests from Ukraine to send weapons and share intelligence in recent weeks and has not imposed sanctions of its own against Russia.
While Israel’s close relationship with the U.S. has put pressure on its leaders to act, Israel has also benefited from a relationship with Moscow that’s allowed it in recent years to strike Iranian convoys in Syria, where Russia has built up support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.
MEXICO
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday that his country would not place any economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, citing a desire to maintain stable international relationships.
Lopez Obrador also criticized what he described as the censorship of Russian media by technology companies.
SERBIA
Serbia will also refrain from imposing sanctions against Russia, its president said last week, despite the country’s hopes of joining the European Union in the years ahead.
Serbian leaders pointed to Russia’s support of Serbia during the conflict over the former Serbian province of Kosovo during the 1990s.
Serbia also relies heavily on Russia for its energy needs, making retaliation against Moscow difficult despite pressure for Serbia to join with the EU’s sanctions efforts.
CHINA
The head of China’s banking regulator said Wednesday that China would not join Western sanctions nor impose any of its own, continuing its opposition to the punishments facing Russia.
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The move was expected, as Russia supplies much of China’s oil and is one of China’s closest trading and strategic partners.
Chinese officials have not spoken out against the attack, and Beijing could potentially continue economic ties to Moscow that could dilute the effectiveness of the Western sanctions regime.
