Russia's people face "incredible poverty" following Western sanctions in response to Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, according to the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
© SPUTNIK/REUTERS FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with local residents, veterans and representatives of civil society organizations to mark the 80th anniversary of a breakthrough in the siege of Leningrad during World War Two in Saint Petersburg, Russia, January 18, 2023. Sputnik/Ilya Pitalyov/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo - SPUTNIK/REUTERS
Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff said the country is headed towards being a new Cuba, Venezuela or "a giant Iran".
Mr Rogoff also said the West needs to think about imposing secondary sanctions on the Kremlin.
He told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "If Russia escalates, what are we doing? We need to be ready. They need to know that is coming."
In all, 39 countries are imposing sanctions on Russia, with the country also facing a cap on the price of its oil from the G7 nations and the EU.
Mr Rogoff said sanctions alone are not enough to win the war but said "you have to stay the course".
He acknowledged that "getting regime change is hard", citing the examples of Cuba, Venezuela and Iran, but said "that is where Russia is headed".
He added: "Will there be regime change? I hope so."
At the same event, Valdis Dombrovskis, European commissioner for trade, said: "We need to stay the course [on sanctions].
"Sanctions are working. Russia's economy was in recession last year and is going to be in an even deeper recession this year."
Mr Dombrovskis said the sanctions have a “cumulative effect” with sanctions on energy “most important” because they are such a vital source of income for the Kremlin.
He acknowledged that the EU had been slow to impose its oil embargo on Russian crude but added the bloc is now in discussion on an oil products price cap.
He said it is “important to put pressure on Russia’s main revenue source”.
However, Mikuláš Bek, the Czech Republic’s minister of European affairs, warned the audience in Davos that sanctions “are not a goal in itself and they will not win the war in Ukraine”, adding “they are a way to buy time”.
He said attention must now be focused on creating more pipelines from north to south in Europe, not just from east to west.
The war in Ukraine had also created “new coalitions in Europe”, crediting the Baltics, Poland, Czech, Slovak, Dutch and the UK with leading the way on the European response.
He added that Europe needs “to concentrate on our defence capabilities”.
Mr Rogoff added: “I cannot second strongly enough the building of defence capabilities in Europe.”
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brezhnervous on January 25th, 2023 at 01:21 UTC »
They already have incredible poverty outside the major centres
Impossible-Group5086 on January 24th, 2023 at 22:40 UTC »
Send them a mirror so they can identify the problem.
Ritaredditonce on January 24th, 2023 at 22:38 UTC »
"All going according to the plan".
What a sadistic dickhead.