The US-EU-Russia sanctions puzzle
http://rt.com/op-edge/188432-eu-usa-sanctions-on-russia/
The US-EU-Russia sanctions puzzle
Published time: September 17, 2014 10:55
Pepe Escobar
Whatever Russia does, doubt does not even enter the equation. The answer is sanctions. So here we go again. The US Treasury-EU latest sanction package targets Russian banking, the energy industry and the defense industry.
The sanctions are mean. The sanctions are nasty. And theres no euphemism to describe them; they amount to a declaration of economic war.
Sberbank, Russias largest wont be able to access Western capital for long-term funding, including every kind of borrowing over 30 days. And the current 90-day lending bans affecting six other large Russian banks a previous sanctions package - will also be reduced to 30 days.
On the energy front, what the US-EU want is to shut down new Russian exploration projects in Siberia and the Arctic, barring Western Big Oil from selling equipment and technology to offshore, deepwater or shale gas projects.