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EU, US and Britain impose sanctions on Putin: Westerners close the tap on Russia

EU, US and Britain impose sanctions on Putin: Westerners close the tap on Russia

“Russia will face the toughest sanctions ever imposed,” promised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, condemning the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.

US President Joe Biden is moving in the same direction which promises and makes Putin an international outcastwhile Great Britain through Prime Minister Boris Johnson declares that his country will impose on Moscow the largest and strictest package of financial sanctions.

All the great powers of the western world are currently facing the Russian Federation following the decision of President Vladimir Putin to order the invasion of Ukraine and announce either themselves or through the organizations in which they participate that they will impose very severe sanctions. The vast majority of measures are expected to hit Russia economically, especially its banking sector, and then hit it hard on energy and transport and trade. Let’s take a closer look at the retaliation currently being offered by each side:

Biden: We will make Putin an international outcast

US President Joe Biden made it clear in his speech yesterday that Washington, with the new sanctions that it will impose and implement immediately, wants to hit the Russian economy, its military capabilities and finally make President Putin an “international outcast”. .

“I impose new sanctions on Russia, which we have designed to have the greatest possible cost to Moscow and the lowest possible cost to the United States and its allies,” he said. The American president stressed that one of the main goals is to hurt the Russian oligarchic elite. “We are united with the 27 EU countries, Britain, Canada, Japan, Australia and many more countries. We will limit Russia’s ability to trade in euros, dollars and yen so that it can not maintain a modern 21st century economy. “The blow to the ruble is already indicative,” he stressed.

The United States has decided to freeze any assets of five major Russian banks in the United States as of yesterday and to cut nearly 50 percent of its state-of-the-art technology imports from Russia. “There will be very strict rules about what can be exported to Russia from the United States. “This will hit the country hard in the field of technology, including in the aeronautics sector,” he added.

He emphasized that the US was not involved with Russia in Ukraine, but said that it was even more important now with the US Alliance. other major NATO forces “in all allied countries in Eastern Europe threatened by Russian aggression.”

On the energy side, the US president said: “We are using all the means at our disposal to reduce the cost of energy for American households. The United States will release other quantities from its Strategic Oil Reserves. “

EU: Sanctions in the financial and transport sectors

At European Union level, last night The leaders of the 27 member states have agreed at this stage to impose significant restrictive measures of an economic nature. “Which will have huge and significant consequences for Russia after the act it has taken” as stated in the relevant announcement of the European Council. These sanctions will affect the financial sector, as well as those of energy and transport, dual-use goods, but also controls on exports and export financing, visa policy and new criteria for the inclusion of Russian citizens in the “black list”. . All the above retaliation will be specified within the next few days.

The European Council notes that “the Russia bears full responsibility for this aggressive action and all the disasters and loss of life it will cause “and that” it will be accountable for its actions. It also called for the urgent preparation and approval of a further package of individual and economic sanctions to cover Belarus, reiterated its firm support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders; and called on all do not recognize the two self-proclaimed separatist entities (Donetsk and Lugansk) and do not facilitate or assist them in any way.

It is recalled that only on Wednesday the European Council approved the first package in response to the decision of the Russian Federation to proceed with the recognition of Donbass regions of Eastern Ukraine as independent entities. In particular, sanctions are imposed:

  • To the 351 members of the Russian State Duma (Lower House), who voted for the recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” in Donetsk and Lugansk.
  • Measures targeting an additional 27 individuals and “high-profile” entities that have played a role in undermining or threatening Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence. These include government officials, the military, banks and Russian oligarchs.

The sanctions include the seizure of assets and a ban on the allocation of funds to those on the relevant list, while a ban on entry or transit through European Union territories also applies. According to European diplomatic sources quoted by the BBC, it is expected that both Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova will be on the list of names to be sanctioned. This means that they will be subject to a travel ban in the European Union, while their assets will also be frozen.

Restrictions on the economy and trade between Donetsk, Lugansk and the European Union have also been imposed, and funding from the Russian Federation, the government and the Central Bank is now banned. Restrictions also apply to the Russian state’s ability to access the European Union’s capital markets and financial markets and services.

United Kingdom: We will impose the largest and strictest package of financial sanctions

The United Kingdom will impose the “largest and most severe” package of economic sanctions “Russia has ever seen”, the British Prime Minister said. Boris Johnson who spoke on the issue in the House of Commons, first announcing that his country would “freeze” all assets held by Russian banks in the UK’s financial system.

“We will continue relentlessly to get Russia out of the world economy. “Day by day, month by month we will undermine Russia’s position in every international forum so that we can punish it and of course we will fight the Russian storm of lies for Ukraine to put even more pressure,” Mr Johnson said.

In particular, the key measures he announced are the following:

  • The assets of all major Russian banks are frozen and will be excluded from the UK financial system. This will prevent them from gaining access to sterling and clearing payments through the country. This includes all the activities of VTB Bank (one of the leading global banks in Russia) in old Albion.
  • The possibility of financing or lending from the UK markets to large Russian companies and the state is cut off.
  • The assets of an additional 100 Russian citizens are being frozen, with the new list including “all the major manufacturers supporting Putin’s war machine,” Johnson said.
  • Aeroflot flights to the United Kingdom are prohibited
  • Export licenses to cover products that can be used for Russian military purposes are suspended
  • Within days the UK will stop exporting high-tech items and oil refinery equipment
  • There is a limit to the deposits that Russian citizens can make in UK bank accounts

“Similar economic sanctions will be extended to Belarus over its role in the attack on Ukraine,” Johnson said.

Source: News Beast