ABSTRACT
Russia is likely to support international economic and political sanctions when there is a clear-cut understanding of their objectives. Russian objections to sanctions might stem from two sources. The first is that sanctions, both economic and political, always involve the use of force, although indirectly. The second is that the nature and geographic character of the conflicts in which sanctions are likely to be implemented in the future might involve situations that would obviously affect the security interests of Russia. Internationally imposed economic and political sanctions have proven to be a highly complex problem for all participants in the process; they can have unexpected effects on both international and domestic politics. The Russian Foreign Ministry has been widely criticized by opposition groups for its participation in the continued regime of sanctions against Iraq. The proper implementation of the sanctions regime demands active regional cooperation of both political and economic.
