Russia assured this Monday that it has enough potential to face the gale of economic sanctions which has fallen on her due to the “special military operation” launched against Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Don’t stop reading: Ukraine releases prisoners with military experience to fight against the Russians)Due to the public interest that the events between Russia and Ukraine arouse, all of our coverage of that invasion and related actions will be freely accessible to all readers of TIME.
“They are harsh sanctions, they cause problems, but Russia has enough potential to offset the damage they are causing“, said the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov. He stressed that what is important now are “actions to minimize the consequences”, to add that it is not the time for “emotional evaluations”.
“We have had no reason to doubt the efficiency and reliability of our Central Bank, nor do we have any now”Peskov said. The Central Bank of Russia (BCR) raised the interest rate starting today from 9.5 to 20% in order to support financial stability and protect the population’s savings.
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“The increase in the interest rate will guarantee the increase in interest on deposits to the levels necessary to compensate for inflationary and devaluation risks,” the BCR said in a statement.
After verifying “cardinal changes in external conditions”, the regulator indicated that future decisions on the interest rate will be adopted “after evaluating the risks of internal and external conditions, as well as the reactions to them in the financial markets”.
The BCR statement makes no mention of the “special military operation” in Ukraine. The ruble plummeted today in the Forex market by almost 30% against the dollar and the euro after the announcement by some banks of the international interbank communications system SWIFT and the suspension by the European Union (EU) of transactions with the Bank Central Russia.
The economic newspaper RBK reports that the BCR has also decided to prohibit brokers from selling securities of foreign companies or individuals. The BCR has also taken measures to guarantee the financial stability of the sanctioned banks, such as the release of accumulated capital reserves worth 733,000 million rubles (6,245 million euros or 6,963 million dollars) for consumer loans and mortgages.
In addition, the Russian Ministry of Finance announced that together with the BCR they have proposed the compulsory sale of 80% of the foreign currency received by residents for exports, a measure that the Government will adopt this Monday.
Peskov announced that Putin will meet with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, BCR Governor Elvira Nabiúlina, and other senior officials of the government’s economic bloc to analyze the situation created by the sanctions.
He added that for a long time Russia had been preparing for possible sanctions, “including the toughest ones”, like the ones it faces now. “There are reaction plans. They were prepared, and now they are applied as problems arise,” the Kremlin spokesman stressed.EFE
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