13.04.2021 © Sputnik/Vitaly Belousov Sanctions and trade wars are becoming a common way in which states interact. The United States uses them most actively; they are used to a lesser extent by US allies in Europe. Russia and China treat the excessive use of sanctions with restraint, since they see a risk of destroying global and regional markets and damaging their own companies. On the whole, Russian politics, especially in Europe, is subtle. Experts and readers often fail to comprehend the closeness of the economic ties Russia maintains with states where official rhetoric rega...