“This is not a simple matter at all because there is a longstanding deep antagonism between the United States and Russia, which really comes more from the American side because Russia is the one great power that can inhibit United States’ expansion,” Joel Kovel told Press TV in an interview.

Noting that the United States is the only “imperial country” with “global aspirations”, he said that the US is “very eager to inhibit Russia” which is standing on its way.

Kovel said the US Treasury – under the pretext of the crisis in Ukraine – is specifically targeting Russia’s oil and gas companies in order to undermine European interest in Russia’s energy sector.

“I think the reasons for the sanctions have to do with the American’s desperate need to weaken European attraction for Russia and the sanctions would make it harder for that to go forward,” he said.

He said Russia, enjoying a “greatly stabilized” economy, has always been willing to share its “vast quantities of hydrocarbon resources” with European countries.

Under the new embargoes, Washington also targeted a series of large banks, energy and defense firms.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking parts in the east have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia activists and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush pro-Moscow protests in the east.

Violence intensified after the Donetsk and Luhansk regions held local referendums on May 11, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.