The United States has said that the Group of Seven (G7) nations will ban the import of Russian gold with the aim of tightening sanctions against Moscow, which carried out missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday after make territorial gains in the eastern Luhansk region. .
“Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that generates tens of billions of dollars for Russia,” President Joe Biden said as leaders of the world’s richest nations gathered in the Alps. bavarians
The move was initially noted by the UK as a joint action being taken alongside other G7 members, Canada, Japan and the US.
However, a senior US administration representative who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters that the G7 would make an official announcement on the gold import ban on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from the G7 summit, said Sunday’s first session will focus on the global economy and the “very worrying outlook” as the conflict in Ukraine drives up inflation and energy prices.
Bays added that the sanctioning of Russian gold has been hailed as one of the summit’s achievements and is likely to go ahead. But mindful of their own economies, G7 leaders are unlikely to approve additional sanctions, “particularly gas imports from Russia to Europe,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on G7 countries on Sunday to respond to the new missile attack in Kyiv by imposing more sanctions on Russia and providing more heavy weapons to Ukraine.
“This 7-year-old Ukrainian girl slept peacefully in Kyiv until a Russian cruise missile blew up at her house. Many more in Ukraine are on strike. The G7 summit must respond with more sanctions on Russia and more heavy weapons on Ukraine,” Kuleba said on Twitter.
This 7-year-old Ukrainian girl slept peacefully in Kyiv until a Russian cruise missile blew up at her home. Many more in Ukraine are on strike. The G7 summit must respond with more sanctions on Russia and more heavy weapons on Ukraine. The sick imperialism of Russia must be defeated. pic.twitter.com/0kn2hl7A4x
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 26, 2022
Gold exports are an important source of income for Russia
Gold exports are an important source of income for Russia in terms of its ability to transact with the world financial system.
Last year, they were worth 12.6 billion pounds ($15.45 billion) and wealthy Russians have been buying bullion to reduce the financial impact of Western sanctions.
The crackdown is likely to be the most significant economic move against Moscow announced at the three-day G7 meeting.
The sanctions against Moscow are beginning to deeply affect Russia’s economy and President Vladimir Putin’s long-term ability to continue the invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth month.
The London bullion market had already suspended six Russian refiners in action announced on March 7.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement that the gold ban “will hit Russian oligarchs directly and strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine.”
“We need to deprive the Putin regime of its funding. The UK and our allies are doing just that,” he said.
Western nations have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow targeting its finances, including freezing its central bank’s assets to block access to foreign exchange reserves.
European Union leaders agreed earlier this month to cut 90 percent of Russia’s oil imports by the end of this year, cutting off a vital source of funding for Moscow.
The G7 summit provides an opportunity for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to demonstrate more assertive leadership in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis.
Scholz promised a revolution in German foreign and defense policy after Russia’s invasion in February, pledging to strengthen the army and send weapons to Ukraine. But critics have since accused him of stalling and sending mixed messages.
“The summit must send the message not only that NATO and the G7 are more united than ever, but also that the world’s democracies are united against Putin’s imperialism, just as they are in the fight against hunger and poverty. Scholz told German. Parliament this week.
Biden told Scholz on Sunday that the West must remain united against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We have to stick together,” Biden told Scholz at a meeting ahead of the G7 summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin hoped “that somehow NATO and the G7 would break up,” Biden said. “But we haven’t and we won’t.”
Reference-www.aljazeera.com