Putin calls on countries to normalize relations with Moscow, and suggests Russia might benefit from sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the international community to normalize relations with his country, while claiming it could benefit from
sanctions.
“We have no bad intentions, there is no need to escalate the situation, impose restrictions, we fulfil all obligations,” Putin said during a flag raising ceremony of a new Russian ferry, a joint venture between Russia and Turkey.
“If someone does not want to cooperate with us within the framework of single cooperation, and by doing so harms themselves, they will, of course, harm us too," Putin added.
Putin went on to say the Russian economy would have adapt to the current situation.
“We will just have to move some projects a little to the right, to acquire additional competencies. But we will still solve the problems that we face” he said. “In the end, we will even benefit from this because we will acquire additional competencies.”
Countries across the world have leveled sanctions against Russia in an effort to squeeze Putin as the invasion of Ukraine advances.
President Joe Biden imposed new sanctions Thursday on
eight members of the Russian elite, along with members of their families, as he warned
Russia is intensifying its bloody invasion of Ukraine with indiscriminate bombing.
The White House, as well as the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada, announced last weekend they would expel certain Russian banks from SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world.
In a major break from its longstanding neutrality, Switzerland also announced it would join the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russia.
archived 4 Mar 2022 14:26:45 UTC
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Russia’s Lukoil Calls For End To The Ukraine War, As The Oil Company Suffers Losses
The head of Russia’s second-largest oil company, Lukoil on March 3 has called for an immediate halt to fighting in Ukraine, in a sign of weakening support for the conflict among some of the country’s influential oligarchs.
The oil giant is the first major Russian firm to speak out against Putin’s decision to invade its neighbor.
Vagit Alekperov, the billionaire founder and chairman of the Russian oil company, released a press statement, pleading for an immediate cessation to hostilities and expressed concern over the expanding conflict, as pressure mounts due to sanctions.
The Russian energy firm “expresses its concern over the ongoing tragic events in Ukraine and its deepest sympathy to all those affected by this tragedy,” said Alekperov. “We stand for the immediate cessation of the armed conflict and fully support its resolution through the negotiation process and through diplomatic means.”
President Vladimir Putin is pressing ahead with his assault in Ukraine, which began last week, despite warnings of possible sanctions from the West and its allies that would impact the Russian economy.
The wide-ranging sanctions have caused a massive drop in the ruble, causing the Moscow stock exchange to close for several days, putting Russia in its worst economic crisis in 20 years.
The crisis has wiped out billions from the fortune of Alekperov, adding to a growing number of concerned oligarchs over the economic impact of the invasion, including some inside Putin’s inner circle.
Many of the Russian oligarchs are upset after several of them have had their assets seized or frozen by Western nations under the new sanctions.
Alekperov’s statement about the Ukraine conflict follows comments from two of Russia’s powerful oligarchs, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska.
Fridman, the co-founder of Alfa-Bank, a confidant of Putin and one of the country’s largest private bankers, said the invasion was a “tragedy” for both Ukrainians and Russians, saying that “war can never be the answer.”
Deripaska, the founder of aluminum giant Rusal, said that “negotiations must start as soon as possible,” adding that “peace is the priority.”
Whitehall is considering grabbing properties owned by oligarchs in the UK with ties to the Kremlin to put pressure on the Russian government.
The French government on March 3, said that it had seized a superyacht owned by a company linked to Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian energy giant Rosneft and a close ally of Putin.
Meanwhile, Lukoil has thousands of gas stations in operation worldwide, including some in the United States.
In Newark, New Jersey, the city passed a resolution on March 2 suspending the business operating licenses for Lukoil stations in solidarity with Ukraine.
The head of Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, who runs Ukraine’s largest energy firm said that anti-Russian sanctions should be ramped up and targeted directly at its energy exports.
Vitrenko said that Germany’s suspension of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was not enough.
Western countries “should make this very clear choice to get rid of this dependency on Russian gas and oil” and that “you have to believe as if you were at war with Russia,” to stop the war from spreading,
said Vitrenko to the BBC.
In Washington, Congress is deliberating on which steps to take if energy sanctions are imposed, with both parties expressing wide support on restrictions of Russian energy.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) presented a plan on March 3 for the European Union to cut Russian imports by a third within a year and urged the European Union to sign no new supply contracts with Russia’s largest gas company Gazprom.
“Nobody is under any illusions anymore. Russia’s use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon show Europe needs to act quickly to be ready to face considerable uncertainty over Russian gas supplies next winter,” said IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol.
The S&P has estimated that international sanctions have halved the Kremlin’s available foreign exchange reserves, leaving its banking system with extremely limited access to global financial structures.
On March 2, the rating agency lowered Russia’s sovereign debt deep into junk status, with a ‘CCC-‘ rating and warned that the country may not be able to pay its debts.
Lukoil maintains that it would continue in its efforts to “provide reliable energy supplies to consumers around the world” and that it was “committed to strengthening peace, international relations, and humanitarian ties.”
archived 4 Mar 2022 14:31:23 UTC
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Ukraine Invasion May Speed Up China’s Plan to Insulate Against US Dollar: Fed Chair
China could very well accelerate its plans to come up with alternatives to the world’s dollar-dominated international payments system, after seeing Russia becoming isolated economically, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Powell made the assessment on March 3 during a Senate Banking Committee
hearing, when he was questioned by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I think the Chinese are particularly interested in the fact that we’ve been able to assemble a global coalition to basically shut down the Russian economy,” Reed said.
“And they will start thinking about how they can avoid that fate if they get into similar circumstances,” the senator said, before adding that China “will look very closely” at the “whole issue of the dollar as the medium of exchange to the world.”
While the senator did not elaborate on what “circumstances” the Chinese regime might get into, Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine has sparked concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may be emboldened and take military actions to fulfill one of its own ambitions—taking over self-governing
Taiwan.
The CCP sees Taiwan as part of its territory that must be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. However, Taiwan is a de facto independent entity, where Taiwanese people elect their own government officials through democratic elections.
In October last year,
Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed that the “reunification” of Taiwan with China would “definitely be realized.”
Reed asked Powell if the Federal Reserve Chairman was looking at this issue and whether he would inform Congress on developments and share his opinions on what he thinks might happen.
“Yes to all of the above,” Powell said in response. He added that China has been working on a messaging system that is like the SWIFT international payments system.
On Feb. 26, the United States, the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK announced that they would
ban certain Russian banks from the SWIFT system, in retaliation for Russia’s military attack on Ukraine.
“That’s going on now. That’s been going on for some time,” Powell said of China’s efforts to insulate itself from potentially the same thing that Russia is experiencing now.
However, the invasion “may change the trajectory” of China’s efforts, Powell said.
On March 2, Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced
new legislation (
S.3735), intending to impose “crippling” sanctions against the Chinese regime should it decide to invade Taiwan.
“Taiwan is a friend, good trading partner, and beacon of freedom and democracy,” Cramer said according to a statement. “Our bill threatens crippling financial sanctions as a deterrence to China trying to follow in Putin’s footsteps as it relates to Taiwan,” Cramer said.
If enacted, the bill would require the president to impose sanctions 30 days after “a triggering event” launched by the Chinese regime. The sanctions include revocation of visas and restrictions on Chinese nationals involved in the use of force against Taiwan and prohibition on any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions with China.
archived 4 Mar 2022 14:34:31 UTC
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Russian Official Responds to US Senator’s Call to Assassinate Putin
Russia on March 4 described a U.S. senator’s call to assassinate Russian President
Vladimir Putin as irresponsible.
Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, said the remarks were “irresponsible and dangerous.”
“The degree of Russophobia and hatred in the USA towards Russia is off the charts. It’s unbelievable that a country’s senator preaching his moral values as a ‘guiding star’ to all mankind could afford a call on terrorism as a way to achieve Washington’s goals on the international arena,” Antonov said in a statement released by the Russian embassy.
He also said that “It’s getting scary for the fate of the United States, which has such irresponsible and unprofessional politicians at the helm,” and demanded an official explanation and a decisive condemnation of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) comments.
Graham, a former Air Force lawyer, wrote on Twitter Thursday wondering if there was a “Brutus” in Russia, referring to Marcus Brutus, a Roman politician who assassinated Julius Caesar in ancient Rome.
“The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country—and the world—a great service,” Graham added. “The only people who can fix this are the Russian people. Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.”
Graham also made similar comments during an appearance on Fox News and reiterated his position on Friday morning while on “Fox & Friends.”
“I’m convinced it’s a one man problem surrounded by a few people,” Graham
said.
The war could also end if Putin is charged with a war crime, Graham said, before calling for a person like an “Elliot Ness or a Wyatt Earp” to take action.
Ness helped take down gangster Al Capone while Earp was one of the law enforcement officers who killed outlaws in the 1800s.
On Putin’s orders, Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Russian officials claimed the move was necessary to “demilitarize and denazify” the neighboring country, a claim widely derided by officials from other nations.
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a brutal, unprovoked invasion of a democracy, an ally, and a sovereign nation. It must not be allowed to stand, for it will create a precedent that unravels the international order that has kept the peace in Europe for nearly 80 years,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said on the Senate floor in Washington on March 1.
archived 4 Mar 2022 14:37:09 UTC
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Microsoft halts sales and services in Russia
Microsoft said Friday it will suspend "all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia."
In an
online post, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote that the company is also "stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions."
It was not immediately clear if the suspension of sales was a direct result of sanctions compliance. Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company added that it also continues to offer cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine and "most recently" helped to defend the country against a cyberattack targeting a "major Ukrainian broadcaster."
Microsoft's cybersecurity team has helped respond to cyberattacks targeting "more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organizations," Smith wrote.
archived 4 Mar 2022 14:38:44 UTC
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Stocks Deepen Week’s Losses as Ukraine Invasion Escalates
Stocks extended their losses for the week on Friday as investors piled into government bonds and gold for cover while scrutinizing the latest twists in
Russia’s escalating invasion of
Ukraine, which included seizing a huge nuclear plant.
Industrial metals, grains, and oil gained while Asian shares mined 16-month lows after news of a fire, later extinguished, near a Ukraine nuclear facility following fighting with Russian forces.
In Europe, the STOXX index of 600 companies was sank 1.4 percent to 431 points, hitting a new low for the year as the benchmark eyed correction territory, meaning down 10 percent from its highs.
The MSCI All Country
stocks index shed 0.6 percent to 686 points, down about 10 percent for the year.
With a 25 basis point interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve later this month now all but certain, economic data like U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday before the opening bell on Wall Street were taking a back seat, said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets.
“The market is driven so much by news headlines risk that the fundamentals barely matter at the moment,” Hewson said.
Even though U.S. rates were set to rise, investors were still piling into government bonds for safety, he said.
“You have escalating inflation risk, you have huge uncertainty about what’s going to happen next on the headline front, and a Russian president who wouldn’t rule out nuclear weapons—that is a pretty toxic backdrop,” Hewson said.
Crude oil rebounded, and aluminium touched a record high of $3,850 a tonne in London as the intensifying conflict in Ukraine stocked fears of a supply squeeze in the metal from Russia, a major producer.
Nickel touched an 11-year high for similar reasons.
“People came into this situation thinking commodities had had enough of a run already but the war has added a new lease of life,” said Mike Kelly, head of
global multi-asset at PineBridge Investments.
“Skyrocketing inflation is what people fear and the best hedge for that is energy and industrial metals,” said Mike Kelly, head of global multi-asset at PineBridge Investments.
In currency markets, the euro lost further ground and was set for its worst week versus the dollar in nearly two years as the prospect of sustained high commodity prices continued to drag on expectations of European economic growth.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were down around 0.5 percent.
Asian Slump
The fire that broke out in a training building near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces was later extinguished, authorities said on Friday.
While that helped ease some of the initial panic that hit markets in Asia, investors remain extremely anxious about the conflict.
“Markets are worried about nuclear fallout. The risk is that there is a miscalculation or over-reaction and the war prolongs,” said Vasu Menon, executive director of investment strategy at OCBC Bank.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares ex-Japan tumbled as much as 1.5 percent to 585.6, the lowest level since November 2020, taking the year-to-date losses to 7 percent.
Stock markets across Asia were in a sea of red, with Japan losing 2.2 percent, South Korea 1.1 percent, China 0.9 percent, and Hong Kong 2.5 percent while commodities-heavy Australia was down 0.6 percent. Investors sought refuge in safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, sending yields on benchmark 10-year yields lower to 1.788 percent. Oil prices firmed, with the market also focused on whether the OPEC+ producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, would increase output from January.
Brent crude futures for May rose to as much as $114.23 a barrel and were last up 0.2 percent at $110.69. The contract fell 2.2 percent on Thursday.
On the economic data front, the U.S. employment report on Friday is expected to show another month of strong job growth, with a wave of Omicron COVID-19 variant infections significantly diminished.
Gold prices also rose on Friday, eyeing their best weekly gain since May 2021. Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,939.
archived 4 Mar 2022 14:42:33 UTC
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