TELFS, Austria – President Biden and his colleagues in a group of seven have announced a ban on new imports of Russian gold in an attempt to further isolate the country from financial markets and punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
The ban on gold imports, which could be fined tens of billions of dollars, appears to be the most important new economic sanction imposed on Russia by the summit. Management officials declined to comment on whether further punitive action would be taken.
“The United States has incurred unprecedented costs for Putin in denying the revenue he needs to finance the war in Ukraine,” Biden said. He said. from twitter Sunday morning. “The G-7 will jointly announce that we will ban imports of Russian gold, the main export of which is tens of billions of dollars to Russia.”
Biden and other leaders of industrialized nations will meet in Germany from Sunday to Tuesday for a summit dominated by the post-Ukrainian war debate.
The mood in Ukraine is even worse when Biden leaves for Europe
Arriving late Saturday evening, Biden attended mass with a US Army priest before the day began and had a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss the war. She also joins lunch with other leaders to talk about the global economy ahead of their evening speech on the official launch of the Global Infrastructure Partnership.
In a briefing to reporters ahead of today’s summit, administration officials saw the move to ban gold imports as an important indication that the world’s largest economies are ready to continue punishing Russia, a major exporter. of gold of the world. Management officials said Tuesday that an official statement will be released and that the U.S. Treasury Department will make an official decision to ban new gold imports.
“The United States has combined rapid and substantial economic spending around the world to deprive Putin of the revenue he needs to finance the war,” an official said in a briefing, speaking on condition of anonymity. “In this case, gold – after energy – is the second largest export to Russia and an important source of income for Putin.
In the report, it was claimed that Russia produced around $ 100 billion in fuel exports in the first 100 days of the war.
He indicated further steps that could be taken to further isolate Russia, but suggested that this would happen in the coming weeks rather than during the summit.
“This is the main export, the main source of income, the main alternative for Russia in terms of the possibility of transactions in the global financial system,” the official said. “Taking this step reduces these opportunities and is a constant example of what steps the G-7 can take to continue isolating Russia and cutting it off from the global economy.
Biden calls for a sharp increase in aid to Ukraine
He said one of the goals of the United States and its international partners will be to avoid Russia’s import ban, which has found ways beyond previous sanctions. Administration officials said their push for a ban on gold imports was actually a sign to Russia that other avenues of access to global financial markets had been cut off.
For example, Russian oligarchs are looking to buy gold balls to avoid the financial effects of Western sanctions, and G-7 leaders are hoping this will send another signal to Putin’s key allies.
“The measures we announced today will directly affect Russian oligarchs and Putin’s war machine,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as part of his statement banning gold imports.
“We have to cut back funding from the Putin regime,” he said. “This is what Britain and our allies are doing.”
This report was provided by Annabelle Timsit in London.
Source: Washington Post
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
