Both Armenia and other post-Soviet countries are profiting from sanctions against Russia – Alexey Mukhin

Speaking with Alpha News, political scientist Alexey Mukhin assessed the recently imposed US sanctions against Russia and their potential impact on Armenia.

“Considering that over 30,000 sanctions have been imposed against Russia, I’d say they won’t have any impact. A few more or a few less won’t make much of a difference. But sanctions are generally unpleasant. It seems to me that at this stage, the countries that continue to impose sanctions are rapidly moving toward implementing those provisions of the Russian Military Doctrine that provide for a retaliatory strategic strike. This means that any subsequent package could become a casus belli. Clearly, the sanctions currently imposed can also be circumvented—it will take time and resources. However, this is apparently precisely the goal of the initiating countries: for Russia to expend effort and resources to circumvent the restrictions. At some point, Russia’s leadership may tire of this and decide that such actions threaten the country’s very existence—with all the ensuing consequences,” the expert noted.

According to the political scientist, the former Soviet republics are developing certain areas of their economies related to parallel imports and are demonstrating steady growth.

“For Armenia, the most significant are secondary sanctions, which could affect individual structures or individuals. But overall, Armenia, and to some extent Georgia, Kazakhstan, and other former Soviet countries are taking a keen interest in the sanctions regime against Russia, as they are profiting from it. Just look at the impact of the sanctions: it is clear that the economies of these countries have recovered, even showing some growth. For example, Kazakhstan recently reported 18% economic growth. Why? Through parallel imports, discounts offered by Russia, and so on. That’s the uncomfortable truth,” Alexey Mukhin concluded.