Carl Bildt: Invasion into Ukraine will be end of Russia

Attempts to invade Ukraine will be “the end of Russia” as we know it.

The opinion was expressed by Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports.

“What is happening now is that we see Russia emerging as an unpredictable power. That’s extremely worrying from a security policy point of view, but also from the business point of view…that’s going to have a significant economic impact over time,” the politician said.

He noted the reaction of the international community should be strong to prevent similar things in future, and the West should have a common position.

“Unity of the EU and the West is fundamental to bringing stability to Ukraine,” he noted.

Speaking about economic sanctions on Russia as a tool to influence the Kremlin's policy, Bildt said sanctions are more effective when a threat of imposing or a possibility of lifting are discussed. The quick imposing of extensive restrictive measures on Russia would collapse its economy and economies of other countries of the region, first of all Ukraine.

According to the Swedish foreign minister, Russia already suffered economically after the international community stopped understanding Putin's policy that caused the outflow of investment capital from the country.