This time, the United States wants to impose sanctions on Russia, which can plunge the Western world into an unprecedented divisive impasse. The Ukrainian crisis has reached a particularly tense phase, and no one knows what will happen next.
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At the end of April, the U.S. Congress was bustling, and the House of Representatives passed several tough bills against Russia one after another. Among them, the most interesting is the proposal to "confiscate Russian assets".
The bill says that the United States will not only "prohibit the unfreezing of Russian money", but also directly use the seized Russian assets to "guarantee compensation to Ukraine", and even use the money to help Ukraine rebuild.
In fact, before this, Western countries had been discussing whether to confiscate Russian assets. But I didn't expect that the United States would really do it this time. This is like showing a sharp sword to Russia, and it is also a very bad start for the rest of the world.
This immediately made European countries very angry. According to Russian media reports, many European politicians have harshly criticized Washington's approach. By doing so, they argued, the United States would not only shock the banking sector and send money out, but could also face retaliation from Russia.
The fears of European countries are not unfounded. After all, most of the frozen Russian assets are stored in the financial systems of European countries. If the United States does this, it will certainly have a great impact on the European economy.
What is even more unacceptable is that the United States is still thinking of dragging the EU into the water and participating in this seemingly exciting but actually risky "adventure". However, it is not so easy for European countries to be led by the nose by the United States, and they are all scheming and have a clear understanding of the real purpose of the United States.
In fact, there have been many controversies and disagreements within the EU on this matter for a long time, and everyone knows that it is not so simple to follow the United States. Therefore, they resolutely stated that no matter whether the US bill can be passed in the Senate or not, they will not blindly follow in the footsteps of the United States, but will make decisions based on their own interests and judgments.
Europe is so tough because they know that freezing assets and confiscating them are two different things. The freezing of Russian assets alone has already had a big impact on the European economy. If Russian assets were to be confiscated, Europe's credibility would be ruined.
Therefore, Europe is really angry this time, and they don't want to be led by the nose by the United States again. In doing so, the United States is completely treating Europe as an obedient little follower and wants Europe to take risks for its own interests.
However, we also have to face up to the fact that Western countries have long crossed the red line of the rule of law in dealing with the Russia-Ukraine crisis. They not only violated the provisions of the UN Charter by imposing illegal unilateral sanctions on Russia, but also froze the sovereign assets of other countries without authorization, violating Russia's rights and interests.
In the face of such hegemonic behavior by Western countries, world powers like Russia and China have long seen through their hypocrisy and deception. Now many countries want to trade with their own money and don't want to rely on the dollar anymore. This is a big test that has never been tested for the financial system of Western countries.
If even the remaining fig leaf of "laws" and "rules" is torn off, then the Western world will really lose its credibility. When the time comes, their financial system and assets will become precarious and may even collapse. Therefore, Western countries need to think carefully and stop going their own way.
What the United States has done this time has made European countries very angry and worried. The split between the United States and Europe is getting worse, and a rare rift has appeared in the Western camp. If this continues, it will only further escalate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and it may eventually lead to a burn. The best way to resolve this crisis is to sit down and engage in peaceful dialogue. It is hoped that all parties concerned will calm down and find a way out for world peace.