Russian authorities won’t ask the European Union to end its sanctions amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia will not request the lifting of EU sanctions because it has a sufficient “margin of safety,” Russian officials said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
“The European Union is not the center of the universe,” said Nikolai Kobrinets, the head of Russia’s European cooperation department.
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While several European countries have implemented sanctions against Russian leaders and banks, the effects of the penalties have not been clear. Russia is facing significant economic hurdles, including a crashing ruble and rising prices, but some are concerned that the “Swiss cheese” approach to sanctions adopted by the White House and its allies has been less effective.
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Others hope to bring the Russian economy to its knees by phasing out European reliance on Russian energy, a view with some consensus despite several EU nations failing to agree on a timeline. Some countries, such as Germany, were heavily reliant on Russian energy before the war. However, European governments adopted new steps toward ending their reliance on Russian energy on Wednesday, including proposals for diversifying energy supplies.
