US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday that an embargo on Russian gold exports will strip Moscow of around $19 billion in annual revenue.
Despite booming profits for Moscow, the US secretary of state insisted that Western sanctions will hurt the Kremlin soon.
Pressed over the West’s failure to hurt the Russian economy with sanctions thus far, Blinken predicted that the effects will be seen next year.
The USA, UK, Canada, and Japan will announce to boycott import of Russian gold during the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Germany, according to a statement from the British government.
Gold is the second most lucrative export that Russia has, after energy, Blinken told CNN’s Jake Tapper. It’s about $19 billion per year, and most of that is within the G7 countries. Cutting that off, denying access to about $19 billion of revenue a year, that’s significant.
Blinken’s statement was factually incorrect. In reality, Russia’s second most valuable export is food. Foreign sales of agriculture products were worth over $37 billion in 2021, according to Moscow.
It is unclear whether the rest of the G7 nations will sign on to the ban, with European Council President Charles Michel saying that the Europe would first need to determine whether it would be possible to target gold in a manner that would target the Russian economy and not in a manner that would target ourselves.
US President Joe Biden has and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that a gold ban would strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine.
However, both leaders said the same about the multiple rounds of sanctions imposed on Russia by their countries and their EU allies?
Yet, while Biden promised in March to crater the Russian economy, Moscow is reporting record profits from oil and gas sales, and the Russian ruble currently stands at a seven-year high against both the dollar and the euro!
Meanwhile, inflation is at its highest level in 40 years in the EU and the USA, while customers on both sides of the Atlantic are paying record high fuel prices these days.
Despite agreeing on a Russian oil embargo last month, the EU is reportedly importing more Russian crude now than at any point over the last two months.
Russia will also still have the option to sell its gold to refiners, or to look for new buyers in China, India, or the Middle East, as it has done with its fossil fuels.
The USA said that Western sanctions against Russia would devastate its economy but that doesn’t seem to be happening. When are these sanctions going to start having the effect that the West and President Biden has promised.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2022.
Blinken & Co seem to provide Russia with a fast track to making Ruble a new reserve currency.
Gold Fact regarding the USA: During WW2 gold coin, bullion, and certificates were taken by Executive Order of the President. Like they wouldn’t do it again to make it look like this is a win for the Zionist USA.
Looser’s turned into beggars?
CLEARLY we have IDIOTS running the government in the USA and Europe! EVERYTHING they have done, has backfired right in their face. The USA and Europe have NO BUSINESS being involved in this conflict. Russia needs to Double or Triple their price of energy, then DEMAND it be paid in gold. This would COLLAPSE the manipulation the USA and Europe have over the precious metals market!
Good points you make but pricing in rubles is also working well.
Agreed, was all part of the plan because the US policies are so predictable?