Russia Watch Thread

weatheriscool
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U.S. stops Russian bond payments, raising risk of default
Source: Reuters
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - The United States stopped the Russian government on Monday from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at U.S. banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of dollars. Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions were frozen.

But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis. On Monday, as the largest of the payments came due, including a $552.4 million principal payment on a maturing bond, the U.S. government decided to cut off Moscow's access to the frozen funds, according to a U.S. Treasury spokesperson. An $84 million coupon payment was also due on Monday on a 2042 sovereign dollar bond.

The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it would use dollars that it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort, the spokesperson said. Russia faces a historic default if it chooses to not do so. "Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default," the spokesperson said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), which had been processing payments as a correspondent bank so far, was stopped by the Treasury, a source familiar with the matter said. The correspondent bank processes the coupon payments from Russia, sending them to the payment agent to distribute to overseas bondholders. The country has a 30-day grace period to make the payment, the source said.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-cra ... 022-04-05/
weatheriscool
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European Union proposes Russian coal ban in new sanctions
Source: AP
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive branch proposed Tuesday a ban on coal imports from Russia in what would be the first EU sanctions targeting the country’s lucrative energy industry over its war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needed to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin after what she described as “heinous crimes” carried out around Kyiv, with evidence that Russian troops may have deliberately killed Ukrainian civilians.

Von der Leyen said the ban on coal imports is worth 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year and that the EU has already started working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports. She didn’t mention natural gas, with consensus among the 27 EU countries on targeting the fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes difficult to secure amid opposition from gas-dependent members like Germany, the bloc’s largest economy. Until now, Europe had not been willing to target Russian energy over fears that it would plunge the European economy into recession.

Europe’s dependence on Russian oil, natural gas and coal means finding unanimity on energy measures is a tall order, but the recent reports of civilian killings have increased pressure for tougher EU sanctions. The U.S. and United Kingdom previously announced they were cutting off Russian oil. Individual EU countries have announced efforts to draw down their energy reliance on Russia: Poland says it plans to block imports of coal and oil from the country, while Lithuania said it’s no longer using Russian natural gas.

“To take a clear stand is not only crucial for us in Europe but also for the rest of the world,” von der Leyen said. “A clear stand against Putin’s war of choice. A clear stand against the massacre of civilians. And a clear stand against the violation of the fundamental principles of the world order.” The proposal still must be adopted unanimously by all 27 EU countries and is included among a new package of sanctions. Other measures proposed by the EU’s executive arm include sanctions on more individuals and four key Russian banks, among them VTB, the second-largest Russian bank.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukrai ... 55d80f37c2
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caltrek
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Intel Suspends Operations in Russia
by Catherine Shu
April 5, 2022

https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/05/intel ... in-russia/

Introduction:
(TechCrunch) A month after stopping shipments to customers in Russia and Belarus, Intel has now suspended all business operations in Russia.

In a statement, the company said, “Intel continues to join the global community in condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine and calling for a swift return to peace,” adding that it will support its 1,200 employees in Russia and “[implement] business continuity measures to minimize disruption to our global operations.”

Other tech companies that have taken action in Russia include Apple, which halted product sales after the Ukraine invasion, AMD, Adobe and General Electric. Meanwhile, Spotify, along with news outlets like CNN, ABC and the BBC have suspended services in Russia in response to a new law that dramatically restricts free speech.
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weatheriscool
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China state refiners shun new Russian oil trades
Source: Reuters
SINGAPORE, April 6 (Reuters) - China's state refiners are honouring existing Russian oil contracts but avoiding new ones despite steep discounts, heeding Beijing's call for caution as western sanctions mount against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, six people told Reuters.

State-run Sinopec (600028.SS), Asia's largest refiner, CNOOC, PetroChina (601857.SS) and Sinochem have stayed on the sidelines in trading fresh Russian cargoes for May loadings, said the people, who all have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.

Chinese state-owned firms do not wish to be seen as openly supporting Moscow by buying extra volumes of oil, said two of the people, after Washington banned Russian oil last month and the European Union slapped sanctions on top Russian exporter Rosneft (ROSN.MM) and Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM). read more

"SOEs are cautious as their actions could be seen as representing the Chinese government and none of them wants to be singled out as a buyer of Russian oil," said one of the people.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 022-04-06/
weatheriscool
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Senate passes ban on Russian oil and gas imports
Source: CNBC
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday passed a bill to ban imports of oil and gas from Russia, the latest measure in the U.S. government wide effort to economically isolate and penalize the Kremlin for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The legislation, passed in a 100-0 vote, prohibits the importation of oil, gas, coal and other energy products from Russia. It comes nearly a month after President Joe Biden signed an executive order that mandated essentially the same steps.

The Senate bill codifies Biden’s order into law, making it far more difficult for a future president to reverse it. The legislation passed after having been bogged down in the Senate for weeks.

The oil import ban passed immediately after the unanimous Senate approval of a bill to revoke Russia’s permanent normal trade relations with the United States, often referred to as “most favored nation” status. The legislation would also sever the normal trade relationship with Belarus, a key Russian ally.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/07/senate- ... orts-.html
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wjfox
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Russia suspended from UN human rights council

Thu 7 Apr 2022 16.58 BST

The United Nations general assembly has voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

Some 93 countries voted in favour of the US-led motion, while 24 countries voted against and 58 countries abstained.

In a draft of the resolution, the UN general assembly would “suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of a member of the Council that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... d7b40d5d7e
weatheriscool
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wjfox wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 4:01 pm Russia suspended from UN human rights council

Thu 7 Apr 2022 16.58 BST

The United Nations general assembly has voted to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

Some 93 countries voted in favour of the US-led motion, while 24 countries voted against and 58 countries abstained.

In a draft of the resolution, the UN general assembly would “suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council of a member of the Council that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... d7b40d5d7e

One step towards making that body a more honorable and respectful body of rights. I'd also like to see Saudi Arabia and a ton of other abusive nations suspended from it.
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Yuli Ban
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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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raklian
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Yuli Ban wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 5:06 pm
One thing not mentioned, though, is that the interest rate is atrociously high.
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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caltrek
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Kremlin Shutters Amnesty, Human Rights Watch Offices in Moscow
by Jon Queally
April 8, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... ces-moscow

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) The Moscow offices of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other groups were shuttered by the Kremlin on Friday—a move that comes amid widespread condemnation of abuses and possible war crimes that have taken place during Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine.

"Amnesty's closing down in Russia is only the latest in a long list of organizations that have been punished for defending human rights and speaking the truth to the Russian authorities," said Agnès Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, in a statement.

"In a country where scores of activists and dissidents have been imprisoned, killed, or exiled, where independent media has been smeared, blocked, or forced to self-censor, and where civil society organizations have been outlawed or liquidated," she added, "you must be doing something right if the Kremlin tries to shut you up."

Amnesty said that its representative offices were closed as well as other NGOs operating in Russia. According to the group, the Russian Ministry of Justice delisted its name from the register of the representative offices, "effectively closing it down alongside with offices of Human Rights Watch, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and other organizations."
caltrek's comment: This is yet another example of Russia's transition from kleptocracy to totalitarianism. Hannah Arendt makes a distinction between tyrants and totalitarian dictators. Tyrants govern by other than democratic means, but there is still space for dissent within their country. In contrast, totalitarian leaders allow no room for dissent. All thought contrary to the interests of the party and the supreme leader are repressed to the point of annihilation. Certain Russian may pretend to be indifferent to that trend on the theory that the alternative allows unwanted Western influence to infiltrate the country. I fear that he is going to come to regret that feigned indifference.
Don't mourn, organize.

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