Russia sanctions will stay… until US collapses – Medvedev

Wide-reaching sanctions on Russia will remain in place no matter who wins the US presidential election in November, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said.

Earlier this week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pledged to “use sanctions as little as possible” if he makes a return to the White House.

In a Telegram post on Saturday, Medvedev insisted that Trump’s comment does not mean he will lift the penalties in force against Moscow.

“For all his apparent bravado as an ‘outsider,’ Trump is ultimately an establishment insider. Yes, he is an eccentric narcissist, but he is also a pragmatist,” the official, who now serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, said.

The former US president understands that sanctions harm the dollar’s role as the international reserve currency, but for him it is still an “insufficient reason to stage a revolution in the US and go against the anti-Russian line of the notorious Deep State, which is much stronger than any Trump,” Medvedev argued.

As for the Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, one “should not expect any surprises from her” if she wins the election, Medvedev predicted.

“She is inexperienced and, according to her enemies, just plain stupid. Beautiful meaningless speeches and boring ‘correct’ answers to questions will be prepared for her, which she will read off a teleprompter while laughing contagiously,” he said.

The former Russian president noted that the Soviet Union was under sanctions for most of the 20th century. Now, Russia is facing similar treatment from the US and its allies, but on a much larger, “unprecedented” scale, he added.

“So, it is sanctions forever. Or rather, until the US collapses during an imminent new civil war. After all, Hollywood makes films about this for a reason,” Medvedev wrote.

He appeared to be referencing the recent ‘Civil War’ movie directed by Alex Garland, which tells the story of a team of war reporters traveling across America to interview the president amid fighting between the federal government and a Texas- and California-led secessionist movement.

The US and its allies have imposed a record 22,000 sanctions on Moscow since 2014, when Crimea rejoined Russia and a conflict between Ukraine and the Donbass republics broke out following a Western-backed coup in Kiev. The number of curbs spiked after the launch of Moscow’s military operation against Ukraine in February 2022. Russian authorities have condemned the sanctions as illegal, responding with travel bans on Western officials, and with other measures.