The European Union is ready to impose punishing sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Bloomberg Television, adding that hopes remain for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. The sanctions that the EU is poised to launch would have “a deep impact on Russia and the Russian economy and on the Russian interest,” Le Maire said, while calling the current moment in the crisis a “time for deescalation” and diplomacy. Le Maire declined to specify what sanctions are ready to go as that would render them “inefficient” as a deterrent, while insisting they would be triggered when “it’s time.” “One point must be very clear—if there is any attack from Russia to Ukraine, we have a set of sanctions that are still available and that would hit the Russian people, the Russian state, and Russian economic interests,” he said. Asked about the prospect …
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