Sanctions against Russia

[George K]

@bachophile

the big doomsday weapon is taking Russia out of SWIFT

[George K]

[Renauda]

@bachophile said in Sanctions?:

@LuFins-Dad the big doomsday weapon is taking Russia out of SWIFT

The issue is wether Russia can sustain itself indefinitely without international banking.

I figure they have planned for this somehow.

The Kremlin appears to have done just that:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60521822

[George K]

Tech exports to Russia blocked:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/02/us-and-allies-block-tech-exports-to-russia-in-response-to-invasion-of-ukraine/

[Mik]

@Renauda said in Sanctions?:

@bachophile said in Sanctions?:

@LuFins-Dad the big doomsday weapon is taking Russia out of SWIFT

The issue is wether Russia can sustain itself indefinitely without international banking.

I figure they have planned for this somehow.

The Kremlin appears to have done just that:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60521822

And we didn't.

[George K]

Mark Thiessen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/24/biden-climate-gas-prices-russia-sanctions/?mkt_tok=NDc1LVBCUS05NzEAAAGC0PWJk4qI53PyYpb79cCf4QYYKgTVR4Retwa7NEXtAlaqFv5q8SghyZjiF6NUbx-uXVVUb3XXT0hJcyImsjmBBmbqGVR9V-4nTdV_ocR-SRE

Russian President Vladimir Putin was emboldened to launch his full-scale invasion of Ukraine because he believed that President Biden was bluffing when he threatened serious consequences.

On Thursday, Biden proved him right.

Not only did the United States and its NATO allies fail to kick Moscow out of the SWIFT banking network used by almost all major financial institutions to wire money — which would effectively exclude Russia from the global economy — Biden failed to sanction Putin’s two most significant exports: oil and natural gas. To the contrary, Biden announced that he had specifically designed the sanctions “to allow energy payments to continue.”

Putin gambled that Biden was not willing to risk sanctioning his lucrative energy exports, and thus driving up energy prices for U.S. consumers just months before the midterm elections. The bet paid off.

[George K]

SWIFT:

https://www.foxnews.com/world/europe-close-to-approving-swift-germany-wary

European leaders have moved closer to cutting Russia off from the SWIFT banking system as Germany remains the sole holdout over implementing the extreme measure following the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Thursday local time. World leaders and diplomats widely condemned the attack and promised strong sanctions in response.

Foreign ministers of the Baltic States and Poland wanted to cut Russia from SWIFT as part of the initial wave of sanctions, but Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus resisted the move.

But after non-stop negotiations, Ukraine has managed to convince the leaders of Italy, Hungary and Cyprus to stand down and agree. Only Germany remains wary, as its leaders say they remain open to the possibility but must "calculate the cost" to its own citizens, Reuters reported.

[George K]

Turkey:

[LuFins Dad]

[Renauda]

[George K]

Kazakhstan No help from us, Vlad:

Kazakhstan, one of Russia's closest allies and a southern neighbor, is denying a request for its troops to join the offensive in Ukraine, officials said Friday.

Additionally, the former Soviet republic said it is not recognizing the Russia-created breakaway republics upheld by Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, as a pretext for its aggression in Ukraine.

Despite ceasefire accords covering the disputed land, Putin on Monday declared Russia's recognition of Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) as independent states.

The surprising development from a traditional ally of Russia has the support of the United States.

“We welcome Kazakhstan’s announcement that they will not recognize the LPR and DPR," the National Security Council said in a statement. "We also welcome Kazakhstan’s refusal to send its forces to join Putin’s war in Ukraine."

Borat hardest hit.

[Mik]

I seriously doubt Turkey would take this step unilaterally. It wouldn't be strategically important anyway. This is a ground assault and naval vessels would be of little importance, even for supplies.

[Renauda]

@Mik

I agree Mik. It would considerably up the ante and pit a founding member of NATO against Russia.

[Axtremus]

I wouldn’t mind another Borat video right about now.

[George K]

@Renauda said in Sanctions?:

@George-K

There is no confirmation from Turkey that it will close the straits to Russian warships.

https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-cannot-stop-russian-warships-102841759.html

If it were to do so it might be in contravention of the Montreux Convention which gives Russia the right for its navy it to return to or access its bases in the Black Sea. Not sure though.

Because the Russians respect treaties agreements so much these days, the Turks should do the same.

[Renauda]

@George-K

I know George but “whataboutism” isn’t going to help the situation. Russian propaganda is all “whataaboutism” and look where we are now.

[Mik]

Just saw on Twitter that Germany will move on SWIFT.

What we need is a Marshall Plan scale effort to get energy supplies to Europe and to utterly halt the purchase of Russian energy. I really don't care if my costs go up.

[Jolly]

If Germany is the lone holdout on Swift, I think they would cave if we could help provide the lost gas.

[George K]

@Renauda said in Sanctions?:

@George-K

I know George but “whataboutism” isn’t going to help the situation.

I know, and I apologize for the simplistic look. But treaties exist for a reason, and when one party fails to abide, there's no reason other parties to abide.

[George K]