The missile strike by the United States and its allies on Syrian chemical facilities promises to be by no means the only reaction of Washington to Moscow's support of the regime of Bashar Assad. Already today, the US Treasury Department intends to announce new anti-Russian sanctions. They will concern exactly responsibility for Syria, writes on EspresoTV journalist Vitaly Portnikov.

Thus, several sanctions packages arise in Russian-American relations. One - in connection with the attack of Russia on Ukraine and the occupation of the Crimea and Donbass. The other is due to Moscow's interference in the presidential elections in the United States. The third - because of Moscow's actions in Syria.

The objects of these packages may not coincide, but all together they beat the interests of the Russian political leadership and oligarchs, undermine the foundations of the country's economy.

Therefore, the settlement in Russian-American relations no longer refers to any particular aspect. Solve problems on Donbass - Crimea, Syria and intervention will remain. You leave from Syria - Ukraine remains. Promise not to go into other people's choices anymore - Syria and Donbas will remain.

Even the US president will not be able to cancel all sanctions if there are unresolved problems. In fact, several different sanctions packages that are introduced for various crimes and abuses of Putin's regime, and create a good foundation for the "deal" that President Donald Trump likes to talk about.

But what is a "deal" in the context of the systemic impact of several different sanctions packages?.

This is surrender. The only salvation for Russia is Putin's capitulation to the civilized world. Full and unconditional.

But Putin is not going to surrender. Already today the council of the State Duma at an extraordinary (!) Meeting is going to discuss a bill that Moscow is going to respond to new American sanctions. Not those that will be introduced today, but those that were introduced because of Moscow's interference in the elections and concerned the interests of oligarchs and state companies close to Putin.

Putin wants to take revenge for them. This revenge will not affect the US economy, but it will hit the interests of ordinary Russians. But the Russian president will demonstrate that he is still on equal terms with Trump. No realistic conclusions from the situation that has developed in connection with the sanctions war, Putin does not want to do. And, maybe, he is simply not able to realistically comprehend the consequences of the war of sanctions and the inevitable isolation of Russia.

It remains questionable whether the interpretation of such consequences is available to the Russian political, military and business elite.

In fact, she has a simple choice. Either she must get Putin's elimination and replace him with a politician capable of signing capitulation to the West. Either the Russian elite will have to be present at the self-destruction of its own state. And another Russia, which could also be successfully and impuniously steal, these people simply do not have.