Always worth it.

"On a June night under the chandeliers of Russia's United Nations mission in New York, dozens of UN ambassadors from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia attended a reception to mark the country's national day - less than four months after its forces invaded Ukraine." Reuters. "The crowd of ambassadors illustrated the difficulties facing Western diplomats in trying to sustain international resolve to isolate Russia diplomatically after an initial flurry of UN denunciations for attacking Ukraine." Many people outside of Western nations view the war as a result of deliberate provocation by NATO. "Putin has been clear for many years that if continued, the expansion would be met with serious resistance by the Russians, even with military action." The Conversation. "Among others, Biden's CIA director, William J Burns, has been warning about the provocative effect of NATO expansion on Russia since 1995." "Western nations have responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a raft of sanctions intended to cripple the country's economy, and economists suggest it could work." CNBC. There is something savage and sinister in the collective punishment of a people after deliberately provoking the nation. Consumer price (CPI) inflation in the US softened to 8.5% year-one-year in July, bls.gov, after jumping to a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. CNBC. CPI inflation in the eurozone was a record 8.6% in June, CNBC, and is expected to have spiked even higher at 8.9% in July, investing.com. "Consumer price inflation in Britain jumped to 10.1% in July, the highest since February 1982, making it the first major rich economy to see price growth hit double digits." Reuters. "Several major Wall Street banks have begun offering to facilitate trades in Russian debt in recent days, according to bank documents seen by Reuters, giving investors a chance to dispose of assets widely seen in the West as toxic." If they are toxic who would buy them? Could it be because Russian bond prices are rising because, "Russia's central bank...cut its key interest rate by a bigger-than-expected 150 basis points, as the country deals with a strong currency, cooling inflation and a possible recession." CNBC. That may reduce yields and raise prices. The EU will allow transactions needed for Russian state-owned companies to sell oil to third countries, the EU Council said in a statement." ET. How generous? Or, maybe not. If Russia exports more oil, even to countries outside Europe, there will be less demand for oil from other sources, such as the Middle East, which will reduce import costs for Europe. "Bangladesh, one of the world's fastest growing economies, has raised fuel prices by more than 50% in just a week." BBC. "Global oil markets face a high risk of a supply squeeze this year as demand remains resilient and spare capacity dwindles, the new head of OPEC said." ET. As more countries across the world suffer, support for sanctions will decrease. A mutual guarantee of peace between the West and Russia will solve the problem. Possibly forever. Wouldn't it be worth it?