"Over the course of the last year, by carrying out several rounds of sanctions, the United States has constantly tried to link Europe with opposition to Russia, forcing it to toughen its restrictive measures against Moscow," says the commentary from the paper, which is one of the world's top ten selling newspapers and an official publication of the government of China.
"However, the countries of the European Union, which are closer to Russia, and to Ukraine, after many rounds of sanctions have not gained the expected stability in Ukraine, and on the contrary, to a certain extent have started to feel the consequences of a rebound from sanctions."
"In negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue, Western countries headed by the US never stopped waving the truncheon of sanctions," says the Daily. "However, in the long term, sanctions did not lead to a solution to the problem, and it's unlikely that any country would give up its own vital security interests in order to rid themselves of sanctions."
At a time when the first signs are appearing of a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis thanks to the agreements reached in Minsk, writes the author, it would be wiser "not to rush to threaten more sanctions, but continue joint efforts at mediation between the conflicting parties in Ukraine."
"It can be said," continues the paper, "that the tragedy of Ukraine exists in the poor capabilities of the authorities to manage the state; because of this, the logic of the US attempt to overcome the crisis in Ukraine by sanctioning third countries is absurd and incomprehensible."
"After all, they themselves had a hand in last year's overthrow of the government in Kiev, which in the end developed into a full-blown crisis in the country."
