MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti), Alexander Mosesov – On Friday, the European Union extended sanctions against Russia. A new wave of restrictions deals with access to capital markets, oil and defense spheres, dual-use goods and sensitive technologies. Some individuals also came under sanctions.
Moscow warned in advance that they consider these steps of the Union inappropriate and short-sighted. An adequate measure was promised by Russia.
Companies on the sanctions list reacted quite calmly. Some have even managed to strengthen their position on the market. Shares of "Rosneft" on Friday were rising by 0.3 percent, "Transneft" - by 0.2 percent, and "Lukoil" shares - by 0.2 percent.
The currency market reacted more nervously. The dollar exchange rate rose to 37.69 rubles in "tomorrow" trading on Friday, renewing its record.
IMPOSED AS PROMISED
On Thursday, the head of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said the new package of EU sanctions against Russia would come into force. And the document, containing the sanctions list, was indeed published in the Official Journal of the EU on Friday morning.
The EU barred three major Russian oil companies (Rosneft, Transneft, GazpromNeft) and three major defense companies (Oboronprom, United Aircraft Corporation and Uralvagonzavod) from seeking finance on European capital markets.
The union also banned sales of dual-technology equipment to nine Russian defense companies, including the Kalashnikov Concern, Russia’s largest producer of automatic and sniper combat arms.
The EU also banned European companies from providing services to the Russian partners for exploration and production of the deep and Arctic oil and shale oil projects, wells drilling and geological studies in particular, European Union’s official document states.
Besides, 24 individuals were included into the sanctions list. Among them were Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky, several Duma members, general director of the state corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov, and Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) .
RUSSIA’S REACTION
Russia was clearly disappointed with the sanctions. The EU’s decision is “absolutely odd and unexplainable on the background of the efforts that in recent days Russia was making to contribute to ending the bloodshed and to a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine,” President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told the journalists on the eve of sanctions introduction.
Russian Foreign Ministry also reacted negatively to the sanctions.
"The isolation of this EU's step from reality is evident." Foreign Ministry stated in a Friday release.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said Friday that the new sanctions introduced by the West are rather positive than negative. Putin stressed also that Russia will always find alternatives to replace those who do not want to work with the country.
COMPANIES’ REACTION
As for Russian companies, targeted by sanctions, they are not going to panic and do not see the sanctions as a problem.
"Given the challenges ahead for import substitution, we do not expect a significant impact on our deliveries. We are not dependent on the sanctions", - Deputy General Director of Rosoboronexport Sergei Goreslavsky stated on Friday.
Similar statements were made by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and some of the representatives of the banking sphere.
ZERO BENEFITS SANCTIONS
The expert community in the new wave of sanctions marks their uselessness and even their harm to the West itself. "It must be recognized that with the pressure of sanctions Russia's behavior cannot be changed", political scientist Alexei Zudin told RIA Novosti.
"Most likely, a new wave of sanctions will lead to the raising of the Russian society, to its cohesion on a patriotic basis. The Western countries will have the effect, opposite to which they had hoped," he added.
And other political scientists, polled by RIA Novosti, all agreed that that the newly imposed sanctions are a great mistake of Brussels.
