Forecast: By bringing Russia closer to Asia, American sanctions will  further alienate it from Europe

ArmInfo.Approaching Russia to Asia, American sanctions will further alienate it from Europe. The scientific director of the German-Russian forum, political scientist  Alexander Rahr, expressed opinion.

The Senate of the US Congress voted in favor of a bill to expand  sanctions against Russia, Iran and the DPRK. The document is expected  to be signed by President Donald Trump.

"Of course, all this will force Moscow to make even greater efforts  to strengthen the Eurasian Economic Union." I think that in Beijing  and Delhi this will be of interest in such a turn of events. "Seeing  the ease with which Washington periodically introduces new sanctions  against any country, in China and India is well aware that this may  well affect them tomorrow, hence their caution in dealing with  Americans, a caution that, coupled with the approach of Russia to  them, very soon may not have the best consequences for the United  States," he stressed.

At the same time, to predict the future of US-European relations in  the light of the US sanctions policy affecting the Old World, Rahr is  hampered. According to him, in the era of global uncertainty, the  world is changing at an amazing speed, and against the background of  this instability, it is very difficult to give accurate forecasts in  favor of this or that scenario.

At the same time, according to his estimates, Germany is not  irritating at all only the US sanctions policy with respect to its  partners. In particular, Berlin is dissatisfied with the US  withdrawal from the Climate Agreement, protectionist policies in  relation to their own economies, the EU sanctions against its own  members of Hungary and Poland under the pressure of Washington.

"The United States has worked very productively with the elites of  the Eastern European countries, which allowed them, with a little  pressure on Bulgaria, to destroy the "South Stream." Therefore, if  desired, Washington is quite capable of doing the same, for example,  with Croatia, and Germany in developing its policy towards the  States. It is necessary to proceed from these realities, of course,  attempts will be made to create a counterweight to the US, the  questions cause their success, especially against the background of  the almost complete absence of allies on the territory of the EU,"  Rahr summed up