MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United States is trying to create economic problems in Russia in an attempt to change President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy, Vice-President of the Washington-based Eurasia Center said.
Rasmussen said that US authorities were trying to create economic problems in Russia in an attempt to change President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy. He stated, however, that Washington's actions looked unprofessional and had nothing to do with democracy. In Rasmussen's opinion, difficult situations only unite the Russian people and strengthen the country's leadership's positions.
"Given a crisis situation like this, typically they have gone through a lot more challenging time periods they have come together and they support the leadership… more so, and I think if you look at the popularity rating for Mr. Putin that demonstrates that. And I think as a result the sanctions are actually being counterproductive to what their supposed objectives were," Rasmussen said.
"Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Austria will all be impacted by that… Greece…They have huge impact of Europe… and obviously Ukraine is the one that is suffering the most," Rasmussen told RIA Novosti.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the Ukrainian internal conflict, denying Washington's unjustified claims. Russia has insisted on political dialogue between the Ukrainian warring sides and brokered a ceasefire deal on February 12 together with Germany and France.
