Georgian News Agency Accent quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst on the Paris terror attacks and Russia’s response:
The Georgian news agency Accent’s interview with Ambassador John Herbst, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
Is Russia using the Paris attacks to split European solidarity in terms of sanctions?
Moscow is constantly working angles to reduce transatlantic unity and European unity, including on sanctions. The terrorist attack in Paris and President Francois Hollande’s quest for an international coalition against ISIS [(also known as Daesh, ISIL or simply Islamic State is a Jihadist militant group in Iraq and Syria] has given Mr. Putin a new opportunity to play this game. Thus far, the Kremlin has made no progress with the major players – the U.S. and Germany. But we see in the statement from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi that countries that were unenthusiastic about sanctions in the past are starting to advocate for sanctions easing, if not lifting.