Also, the Dollar and Euro can have effect on the Russian economy and tracked for intelligence only if they are used.
I wonder if this will be considered a great blunder, looking back in few years.
Forcing worlds most energy and minerals rich country doing business with most industry rich country, what could go wrong?
what damage do you really think this does to "the West"? the lack of access to cheap Russian energy is the only thing I can think of, and that's a dependency better resolved now than punted to the future. had Europe never grown dependent on it, we might have entirely prevented the current situation to transpire
Also, western brands are losing markets and brand recognition.
IMHO the sanctions should have been for military equipment/weapons and precision tooling only and enforced religiously.
Europe could have cheap energy alternatives if they wanted, but they preferred to rely on cheap Russian natural gas, believing them not to be a rogue state. The attempted invasion of Ukraine has made it obvious this was a terrible miscalculation.
Arguing that Europe should try to restore the status quo ante bellum is not only foolish, senseless, illogical and irrational but dangerous too.
Your profile says you like to argue things that you don't really believe in just to "have a more lively debate". I can only imagine that's what's happening here, because no rational actor would make the sort of concessions to Russia as you argue, particularly after they have proven to be a much, much weaker military power than anticipated.