Vladimir Putin's Russia has been willing to go to extraordinary lengths to undermine the Western sanctions targeting its economy, from interfering in an American presidential election to boosting the Italian far right on Twitter.
When it comes to the sanctions imposed by the Council of Europe (CoE), though, Russia seems to have hit upon a far simpler solution – and it just might succeed.
While most Western attention focuses on natural gas exports as the vehicle for Russian black...
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Matthew is EUobserver's Opinion Editor. He joined EUobserver in June 2018. Previously he worked as a reporter for The Guardian in London, and as editor for AFP in Paris and DPA in Berlin.