The sanctions offensive before the military counteroffensive

In view of the G7, the West is discussing how to increase economic pressure on Putin: the United States wants a general ban on exports to Russia, Europe prefers not. But everyone is aware that new restrictions are needed and loopholes through third countries need to be closed

At the G7 summit in Japan on May 19, talk will return to the war against Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia. As reported by Bloomberg in recent days, the US line is to intensify the pressure on the Russian economy by reversing the logic of the current sanctions regimeespecially on exports: if now all exports are allowed except those prohibited, the idea is to ban all exports except those that are exempt (e.g. medicines, food and agricultural products). The proposal of the Biden administration, however, as reported by the Financial Times, was rejected by the European Union and Japan because it was deemed “unfeasible”.