Russia's 'revenge list' shows 43 nations facing retaliation for Ukraine support

Vladimir Putin’s regime has published a list of 43 ‘unfriendly countries’ who face economic restrictions in retaliation for imposing sanctions on Russia.

The list includes all EU and Nato members as well as a host of financial powerhouses such as Japan, Singapore, Australia and Switzerland.

Real estate purchases, financial trades and deals involving loans in roubles will now require ‘special authorisation’ from the Kremlin if they involve companies from countries on the list, spelling chaos for business flowing in and out of Russia.

Russian state media portrayed the move as a tough reaction to the international flurry of sanctions prompted by its invasion of Ukraine, which have cut off many Russians from international payment systems and nearly halved the value of its currency.

For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live

But it also revealed the Kremlin’s desperation to keep the Russian economy afloat as other retaliatory measures were quietly diluted.

Putin’s government simultaneously announced measures enabling Russian companies and citizens to pay debts owed in foreign currencies to overseas lenders from ‘hostile countries’ in roubles.

Russian banks have been ordered to offer special rouble accounts into which roubles can be paid and converted into foreign currency at the central bank’s official exchange rate, which is then paid to creditors.

It comes as a major U-turn after the Kremlin had previously banned all transfers to foreign investors.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov last week insisted the government has a strong safety net around its economy and claimed the financial markets are having an ’emotional’ reaction that will soon level out.

But ordinary Russians are already feeling the pinch from rapidly rising prices of imported goods, with some staple foods more than doubling in price, and plummeting returns on their exports.

Some international retailers such as Ikea, have independently decided to close their stores in Russia and Belarus, Putin’s sole ally in the invasion.

An emergency rise in interest rates to 20% has temporarily cushioned the currency’s fall but spells a deep recession in the coming months.

The vast majority of Russia’s €630 billion war chest of gold and foreign currency has now effectively been frozen, making it harder to put an artificial floor under the rouble’s value.

Boris Johnson was on Monday holding talks with Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in London as part of wider preparations for further sanctions against Russia.

Later on Monday he will join a call with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

European countries and the US are thought to be preparing to announce a ban on oil imports from Russian gas and oil, a significant escalation of the current sanctions.

Russia’s list of ‘unfriendly countries’ included the United States, Canada, the 27 EU states, the UK, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan (considered a territory of China, but ruled by its own administration since 1949).

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article