US facing financial doomsday over Russia sanctions: Analyst

The United States is likely to experience a financial “doomsday” as a result of its imposition of sanctions on Russia following Crimea’s secession from Ukraine, an analyst tells Press TV.

Eric Draitser said in an interview with Press TV that Russia, which supplies more than one third of Europe’s gas, is a “great energy power” that “may decide to stop accepting US dollars to settle debts and US dollars for its energy reserves.”

“All of this is sort of a doomsday scenario from a financial perspective; but, it is all very much a possibility if the United States and Europe” escalate the situation, the analyst said.

Draitser held out the possibility of euro and dollar depreciation, which would, in turn, trigger “unrest in global markets.”

The analyst said Russia is in a position to make it harder for Europe to have access to gas, adding,

“It would fundamentally change the geopolitical calculus not only of the Europe but of the global economy more generally.”
On Tuesday, the US Congress approved a bill calling for new sanctions on Moscow over Crimea, which recently joined Russia.

Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which nearly 97 percent of the voters said yes to union with Russia.

On March 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law documents that officially made Crimea part of the Russian territory.

“I think everyone should be very keen to avoid a shooting war, particularly with a nuclear power such as Russia…, which obviously is a nuclear power,” said Draitser.