Sanctions regime stokes warning of diplomatic ‘bumpy ride’

Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general of the Royal United Services Institute, said the UK’s most recent sanctions were a “classic example of foreign policy through public signalling”. But he questioned the effectiveness of the measures in changing the behaviour of a regime guilty of human rights abuses. “Most of these sanctions . . . are against individuals who were acting on behalf of their states, yet without adding sanctions against the states themselves. “What does make a difference is if you have US-style sanctions which deny foreign governments access to dollar financing. The question is, why aren’t you sanctioning the state? Because, obviously, that’s far more complicated.”