THIS MESSAGE (MATERIAL) IS CREATED AND (OR) DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN MASS MEDIA PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT AND (OR) A RUSSIAN LEGAL ENTITY PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT.
Western countries have decided to block about half of the “financial reserves” of the Bank of Russia, Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced on February 27 after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
According to him, the freezing of reserves, which are in the banks of the G7 countries, “will greatly affect the financial system of Russia,” RBC reports.
Borrell explained that in the near future the European Council will formalize this decision and other decisions on Russia (in particular, disconnecting a number of Russian banks from the SWIFT system) in legally binding documents. He stressed that the EU cannot “block the reserves that are in Moscow or China,” however, “half of the financial reserves of the Russian Central Bank are placed in the banks of the G7 member countries, they will be blocked.”
At the same time, Borrell did not name the exact amount of assets of the Bank of Russia, which could be frozen by the European Union and partner countries. It is also unknown whether the Bank of Russia still has the opportunity to withdraw reserves from the reach of Western countries before the formal entry into force of these sanctions. By “financial reserves” Borrell could mean the international reserves of the Central Bank, excluding gold. As of February 1, the foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Russia amounted to $498 billion (including gold, $630 billion). Based on this, the West can block at least $240-250 billion of financial assets of the Central Bank, RBC notes.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an emergency appeal to the Russians and announced a special military operation in the Donbass. In his speech, he stated that “circumstances require decisive action from Russia” and stressed that “Russia will not allow Ukraine to have nuclear weapons.”
In response to Russia’s actions, Western countries (USA, Canada, European Union, Great Britain, Japan) announced new, tougher sanctions against the Russian Federation, including financial and economic ones.
You can follow the chronicle of events around Ukraine on February 28 here.
Source: Rosbalt
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
