US Treasury Bans Transactions With Russia’s Central Bank
The Biden administration estimates that the move could impact ‘hundreds of billions of dollars’ of Russian funding.
The United States Treasury Department on Monday has banned all US transactions with Russia’s central bank effective immediately. The Biden administration estimates that the move could impact “hundreds of billions of dollars” of Russian funding. Its officials said Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, European Union and others will join the US in targeting the Russian central bank.
“This action effectively immobilises any assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation held in the United States or by US persons, wherever located,” the Treasury said of the measure taken in coordination with Western allies.
This move will severely limit Russia’s ability to defend the rouble and prop up its economy.
The Russian currency plunged about 30 per cent against the US dollar Monday after Western nations announced moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and to restrict Russia’s use of its massive foreign currency reserves.
While the SWIFT move will hinder Russian banks from communicating with international peers, analysts say limiting the use of more than $630 billion in international reserves could prove even costlier for Russia.
In addition to sanctions, the US and Germany announced they will send Stinger missiles to Ukraine among other military supplies.
The European Union, founded after World War II by all the American allies mostly in Western Europe is supplying military aid for the first time, including anti-tank weapons and ammunition.
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “The shipments of weapons and munitions to the Ukrainian territory in our opinion could and will be a very dangerous and destabilising factor which will not in either case contribute to peace and the restoring of order in Ukraine.”
Peskov called the imposition of sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin “absurd”, and said that the Russian president was “quite indifferent about it.” This is part of the Western propaganda and pay warfare. This is how these chaps had demonized Saddam during conflict between Western Countries and Iraq.
“Everyone knows that the President doesn’t have any assets apart from the ones he declares every year – a trailer, a flat, some bank deposits maybe,” he said.
