(INDIANAPOLIS) – Indiana Congressman Andre Carson says the U.S. and its allies may need to dial up economic sanctions against Russia even higher.
As Russian troops advance on the Ukrainian capital, the U.S. has cut off Russia’s two largest banks and several smaller ones from the American financial system. Carson says those steps will have bite. The Russian stock market has already plummeted, and Carson says Russia is likely to see soaring prices and businesses scaling back investments there.
But Carson says it’s likely Putin had already taken the likelihood of economic pain into account in planning the attack on Ukraine. He says much of that pain will fall on the Russian people. But he says it’s critical for the world to take a firm stand against an invasion he says is “beyond imperialistic — it is narcissistic.” Carson singles out India for maintaining a conspicuous silence about the invasion. He accuses the country of worrying more about safeguarding its arms shipments from Russia.
Allies across Europe, Asia and Australia have imposed financial sanctions on Russia, but U.S. allies in Western Europe have so far stopped short of severing Russia’s connection to SWIFT, the Belgium-based messaging network connecting banks across 200 countries. Carson says the U.S. should work with Middle Eastern allies to establish an alternative source of fuel for European countries, to free them to impose tougher penalties without jeopardizing their supplies of Russian natural gas. He says the confrontation is another reminder of the importance of energy independence.
