Promoting securing alternative energy suppliers… Simultaneous pressure on financial sanctions and export controls
Armed Forces Demonstrated by Russia, Army, Navy and Air Force
“If there is no response from the US this week, we will take countermeasures”… Joint exercises with China and Arabia
US President Joe Biden announced on the 25th (local time) that he would directly sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. It sent an ultimatum that the US and Russia could cut diplomatic ties and return to the Cold War era confrontation. Russia’s Kremlin protested, saying the sanctions against Putin would have devastating consequences.
President Biden met with reporters in Washington on the same day and asked if he would impose sanctions on Putin personally if Russia invades Ukraine. You will see that.” If it is subject to U.S. sanctions, assets in the U.S. are frozen and all transactions with U.S. individuals and companies are banned. President Biden also hinted at the imminent dispatch of troops to Eastern Europe, saying that “some of the[8,500]troops will be moving soon.”
In particular, a senior Biden administration official said on the same day, “We are discussing with countries producing gas to supply gas to Europe by increasing production of major natural gas producers around the world. We can secure an energy source,” he said. The US plans to ban oil and gas exports, which account for two-thirds of Russia’s total imports, in addition to the financial and export sanctions envisioned by the US.
○ The US and Russia are also promoting the neutralization of ‘energy weaponization’
It is rare for the United States to directly impose sanctions on foreign leaders. The only foreign leaders the United States put on the sanctions list are North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2016), Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (2017), and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (2019). If sanctions are imposed on major state-owned enterprises run by Putin’s close associates at the same time, all of those companies’ assets in the United States could be frozen, which could seriously damage Putin.
The Biden administration also aimed the energy industry at the heart of Russia’s economy. The plan is to secure alternative energy sources so that Europe, including Germany, which depends on Russian natural gas, can actively participate in sanctions. President Biden will hold a summit meeting with the King of Qatar on the 31st to discuss additional gas production plans. The Atlantic Council, a US think tank, said the US could impose sanctions on Gazprom, a Russian state-owned natural gas company that operates the Northstream gas pipeline linking Germany and Russia.
In the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. announced that it would simultaneously impose financial sanctions on major Russian banks and export controls on mobile phones and electronic products containing U.S. technology. In particular, a White House official said, “We will work with any country to prevent Russia from securing substitutes.” Unlike some companies in the United States and South Korea who were exempted from sanctions at the time of the Chinese sanctions on Huawei, this time it means that the exceptions will be minimized.
German media Bild reported that the economic loss to Russia could amount to $50 billion (about 60 trillion won) according to the sanctions policy the United States explained to Germany. That’s about one-eighth of Russia’s exports last year.
○ Russia: “If there is no response from the US this week, we will take countermeasures”
Russia has mobilized its land, sea, and air forces in the southeastern part of the border with Ukraine, including Crimea, and in nearby waters, intensifying the intensity of large-scale armed demonstrations. According to Interfax News, Russian Sukhoi (Su)-27SM fighter-bombers and others are conducting missile strike drills. On the 25th, the Russian 11,000-ton missile cruiser “Varyak” and others, along with the Chinese missile destroyer “Urumqi”, conducted a combined Sino-Russian naval exercise in the western part of the Arabian Sea on the 25th. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an inquiry to the government on the 26th that he would take countermeasures if the US did not keep its promise to respond to Russia’s security demands in writing this week.
“We have confirmed that Russian forces are continuously increasing along the border between Ukraine and Belarus,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing on the 25th (local time). there is,” he said.
Washington = Byung-ki Moon, Correspondent weappon@donga.com
Paris = Correspondent Yunjong Kim zozo@donga.com
