Trump extends Russia sanctions, Putin-friendly populists win Italian vote

U.S. President Trump extended for a year existing
sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials and enterprises, the White House
website reported on March 2. The sanctions were first imposed in 2014 over the
illegal annexation of Crimea before they were widened and extended several
times. The Crimean annexation and military aggression in Donbas “continue to
undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace,
security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity; and support the
illegal seizure of state assets,” the statement said.

Right-wing and populist parties that have a positive
view of Russian President Putin dominated the Italian parliamentary elections
held on March 4. The populist Five Star Movement earned 29-32% of votes,
Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia earned 13-16% and the anti-immigrant
Lega Nord earned 13-16%, according to Italian exit polls. Prominent members of
all three parties, which are likely to form the parliamentary coalition,
expressed positive sentiments towards Putin. The center-left Democratic Party
earned 20.5-23.5%. The final estimates will be available this evening.

Zenon Zawada: The events
confirm that while the U.S. remains firm on pressuring Russia to withdraw from
Ukraine, the EU is continuing to grow exhausted from this conflict – distracted
with its own migration problems – and drawing closer to relaxing sanctions.
With these elections, Italy stands to produce among the Putin-friendly
governments in the EU, alongside Hungary, where elections are scheduled for
April 8. If this trend continues in the EU (which we expect), the first
sanctions could start to be relaxed in two years.