Biden is taking Russia out of the Western financial system

Western sanctions began to fall on Russia after the recognition of Vladimir Putin independence The Regions Ukrainian From Donetsk and Luhansk He announced the dispatch of “pacification” forces to those areas, which was considered a prelude to an invasion.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden announced a package of measures that include “comprehensive blockade sanctions” on two large Russian financial institutions, the Military Bank and VEB, the state bank responsible for supporting the development of the economy, managing public debt and pension funds.

Biden announced complementary sanctions to hit Russia’s sovereign debt, “which means we’re cutting off the Russian government from Western funding,” he said.

“Russia will not be able to make money from the West and will not be able to trade its debts in our markets or in European markets,” he said.

The president, who considered that the step taken by Putin was “the beginning of a Russian invasion”, noted that from tomorrow sanctions will also be imposed on members of the family of the Russian elite.

And Biden, based on coordination with the German government, celebrated Berlin’s cancellation of plans to approve the operation of the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Germany with Russia without passing through Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Schulz announced the measure on Tuesday morning.

“It sounds technical, but it is a necessary administrative step so that there is no certification for the gas pipeline, and without this certification, Nord Stream 2 can’t start tradingForeign Minister said.

The gas pipeline was completed in September 2021, but has since been paused, pending final certification from Germany and the European Union (EU), and in the midst of a severe energy crisis that has caused gas prices across the continent.

It was Nord Stream 2 A divisive project within the EU and for the government United StateAnd the Some believe that the pipeline will increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and make Ukraine more vulnerable to invasion.

For his part, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that Germany was Shooting in the foot.

Medvedev wrote on Twitter: “German Chancellor Olaf Schulz has asked to suspend the adoption of Nord Stream 2 … Well, welcome to the new world where Europeans will soon pay 2,000 euros for 1,000 cc of gas.”

More penalties

The European Union, for its part, announced that it would sanction 351 deputies in the Russian State Duma who voted on Tuesday to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics, as well as against 27 natural and legal persons.

As the head of European diplomacy, Josef Borrell, explained, these are “persons and entities that play a role in undermining or threatening Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”

Borrell also said the EU would focus on the ability of the Russian state and government to access European capital, financial markets and services.

The United Kingdom also joined the sanctions package on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced sanctions against five Russian banks: Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and Black Sea Bank.

In addition, Johnson revealed measures against three peopleOligarchs: Igor Rotenberg, Boris Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko.

Any assets they have in the UK will be frozen. “The persons concerned will be prevented from entering here and we will prevent any British individual and his entities from doing business with them,” the prime minister said.

This is the first part, the first bombardment of what we are ready to do We have more sanctions ready to be implemented“, he added.

The United States announced that it will formalize its sanctions against Russia on Tuesday.

Western powers have threatened Russia with possible severe sanctions to prevent it from invading Ukraine.

The US Senate is currently preparing a list of measures he calls the “mother of all sanctions” and President Joe Biden has confirmed that his Russian counterpart has “never seen sanctions” like the ones they have in mind.

Among the possible measures, the West like that Maybe Act It is illegal for countries and companies to buy oil from Russian energy giants such as Gazprom or Rosneft.

However, James Landall, the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, points out that any restrictions on Russian gas will raise prices across Europe.

The Russian economy is largely dependent on the sale of oil and gas abroad. These exports constitute a major source of income for the Kremlin.

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