The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Question: What impact have the sanctions had on the state of relations between Russia and the West?
Maria Zakharova: Unfortunately, the growing use of politically motivated, unilateral restrictive measures by a number of Western countries, primarily the United States, has become a reality of our time. We increasingly view the sanctions against Russia as a “gesture of despair” and a manifestation of the local elites’ inability to accept the new reality, abandon the stereotypes of their bloc-based thinking, and recognise Russia’s right to independently determine its path of development and build relationships with its partners. Apparently, they find it difficult to handle the obvious successes of the Russian economy, which is growing more competitive, internationally, and the greater presence of high-quality Russian goods and services in world markets.
The vicious practice of imposing unilateral political and economic restrictions, especially the extraterritorial application of such measures, is an infringement on the sovereignty of states and interference in their internal affairs aimed at keeping, at any cost, their dominant position in the global economy and international politics, which they are gradually losing. Diplomacy is being replaced by sanctions; sanctions help mask trade protectionism and attempts to divert attention from internal problems as well.
Indicatively enough, the West has ignored the calls of the UN Secretary-General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to suspend unilateral, illegitimate sanctions on the supply of medicines, food and equipment necessary to fight the coronavirus during the pandemic. We also have not seen any interest from our partners in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative proposed during the G20 summit to create green corridors in international trade, free from sanctions or other artificial barriers.
The restrictions introduced against our country undoubtedly have had a negative impact on our relations with the collective West. They are undermining mutual trust, and darkening the prospects for normalising relations. Although we do not at all support pushing the sanctions spiral upward, we nevertheless accept the challenge and respond promptly and in a targeted manner. Given the obvious fact that anti-Russia sanctions are a double-edged weapon that inflicts no less damage on the one wielding it, we do hope that common sense will prevail, and our partners will return to building ties with us, relying on the principles of justice and equality and relinquishing the “right of the strongest” and the invasion of sovereign affairs of other states. We have repeatedly made it clear that we did not start this sanctions war, but we are ready, at any point, to do our part in order to end this pointless confrontation, in which there will not be and cannot be any winners.
Question: How strong is the impact of the Western actions on the Russian economy?
Maria Zakharova: The escalation of reciprocal sanctions pressure is having an all-around negative influence both on the Russian and Western economies. Assessments of the reciprocal damage vary due to their objective nature but are still running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Under the circumstances, we continue responding to restrictions in a balanced, appropriate manner, being guided by the interests of national economic development and domestic economic operators. In these actions, we proceed from the principle of “doing no harm to ourselves.” In part, we retain our special reciprocal economic measures, that is, restrictions on the import of certain products from the countries that have introduced anti-Russia sanctions. We are consolidating our national financial system and searching for new international partners, including regional ones. We are also taking other measures aimed to diversify our foreign economic ties. We are working on economic and legal mechanisms to reduce the negative impact of restrictions on the development of bilateral trade and investment cooperation. We have drafted legislation providing for measures to counter new potential unilateral steps by the United States and other countries. We have largely managed to adapt to the external challenges and turn the situation in our favour, as well as launch programmes for import substitution and the development of advanced, competitive domestic industries.
Question: What steps is Russia taking to reduce its dependence on Western financial systems?
Maria Zakharova: The discussion on the need to reduce dependence on the dollar as the world’s leading currency has been going on for at least a decade. The previous upheavals in the US financial market and the subsequent global financial and economic crisis exacerbated the vulnerability of the global economy to the dollar domination and called into doubt the sustainability of the world currency system based on the supremacy of one national monetary unit. Washington’s current sanctions “voluntarism” is making even more dubious the reliability of dollar transactions. In these conditions, the task of consolidating the independence and sustainability of the financial system to external threats is increasingly becoming a priority for any state.
Question: Is Russia always destined to be dependent on the US dollar?
Maria Zakharova: In order to reduce excessive dependence on foreign means of payment, states and financial market participants have to adapt to new realities, including by finding and developing alternative settlement mechanisms. From this perspective, the gradual departure from the US-centric configuration of the world monetary system is an objective response to a combination of factors. Consistent steps in this direction in coordination with our trading partners would help strengthen the national currencies, as well as minimise the potential economic damage from new restrictive measures Western countries might introduce. This work will undoubtedly require significant effort to reformat the established models of cooperation, to create mechanisms for the support and functioning of new systems of mutual settlements and pricing in the market. Russia has recently signed agreements to expand the use of national currencies in mutual settlements with China and Turkey. There are similar agreements within BRICS. Positive trends are observed in the EAEU, with a growing share of national currencies in mutual payments, as well as in trade and economic cooperation between Russia and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.
Russia’s possible disconnection from SWIFT is so far considered a hypothetical scenario. Nevertheless, interdepartmental work is underway to minimise the risks and economic damage to our country from restricted access to the usual international financial instruments and payment mechanisms. The Central Bank’s Financial Messaging System is one example of alternative instruments. Options are also being discussed for adding interface with its foreign counterparts, such as the European SEPA, the Iranian SEPAM and the Chinese CUP and CIPS.
Cooperation is growing between the Russian MIR payment system and its foreign counterparts, in particular, the Chinese UnionPay, the Japanese JCB and the international Maestro card. Such co-branded cards are accepted both in Russia and abroad. In particular, various operations with them are already possible in Armenia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkey. At the same time, it is a long and laborious process. And it is too early to talk about any specific dates for putting together a comprehensive national toolkit for payment transactions or for its promotion to international markets.
At the same time, Russia is vigorously exploring the opportunities provided by modern digital technologies and the potential of their use to increase the sustainability, stability and independence of the national financial system and means of payment, with a clear understanding that digital money can become the foundation of an updated international financial system and cross-border transactions in the future.
Question: Can Russia ever truly insulate its economy from a hostile foreign policy?
Maria Zakharova: Only a small group of countries – to their own detriment – are pursuing a hostile policy towards Russia. In response, Russia will continue to use external challenges as additional incentives to increase the stability of its economy, mobilise the creativity of national business, modernise production, and diversify economic ties.
We will not shut out the outside world, which is something the initiators of the sanctions are persistently pushing us to do. On the contrary, we are always open for dialogue on all problems or concerns, and are ready for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries, but only on the basis of the principles of equality and mutual consideration of interests. This is how we actually see stable international relations.
For our part, we strongly support a broad international discussion of ways to counteract the illegitimate unilateral measures. We are confident that a systematic dialogue should help reduce the business community’s concerns regarding the uncertainty and instability in global affairs, which are provoked by the West’s one-sided and inconsistent policy. Even today, we can see that the initiators of the sanctions are starting to realise, albeit slowly, that any unilateral steps cause unacceptable damage to those taking them, and are pointless and counterproductive.
Russia seems to be funding its adversaries.
The present composition of Russia’s foreign currency holdings is 35% US$, 35% Euros, 10% British Pound,15% Renminbi and 5% Yen.
Why such large holdings in the British Pound? The UK is not among the top ten export or import countries for Russia. However, Russian oligarchs have escaped with their loot to Britain. So Russia is enabling its looting?
Japan is among the top ten exporters and importers for Russia. China is Russia’s #1 import and export destination, with Russia in deficit. Yet Russia holds only 15% Renminbi in its holdings. Also, majority of Russia’s holdings are in the Financial Empire’s currencies (80%).
Please explain the rationale for Russia’s holdings as it doesn’t make any sense. Russia is strengthening its adversaries?
Source?
The currencies and the proportions you have listed are almost identical to the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) an international reserve asset.
https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/01/14/51/Special-Drawing-Right-SDR
China at one point wanted to replace the USD in international trade with the basket of currencies of the SDR…
Correct, dear Serbian girl.
The basket is how Russia and China want to proceed to replace the USD as global reserve currency.
And the percentages are a form of balance and hedging in case any one fails or is adversely impacted.
Just because you import-export heavily with one nation is no reason to overload on that currency.
In fact, Russia manages its sovereign funds and gold as good as any nation on Earth.
It is how it has minimized the sanctions’ effects.
Nations foreign currency holdings are not defined by the IMF and its SDR. They’re defined by nation’s trade and investment opportunities. IMF does nothing when nations are unilaterally sanctioned and thereby is a non-party. Please don’t digress by bringing IMF and SDR.
Russia has been subjected to “90 rounds of sanctions.” Even the EU just recently passed a non-binding resolution to add more financial sanctions. In summary, Russia is under attack and in a state of war.
Why is Russia letting its currency FLOAT freely. This is opening another front for it to be attacked. How much resources has its central bank spent to prop up the ruble? This will result in higher interest rates and hikes, negatively impacting Russia’s domestic investments. What is the speculative demand?
Japan hasn’t put sanctions on Russia, to the best of my knowledge. Also, it has no foreign exchange challenges and is industrially stronger than the UK. It is a favorite source of foreign exchange for carry trade. Russia is trying to win Japan and need to see it as an investment opportunity. Yen would be a better currency holding that the British Pound?
Source:
https://www.rt.com/business/519377-russia-wealth-fund-gold-investing/
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202102/1216495.shtml
Japan’s debt is, like, at least 200% of its GDP, which makes the USD look austere by comparison. How much of a problem would this be in the short- and long-terms?
What is total U$’s debt (government, corporate, consumer, financial…) as % of gdp? How big is the U$’s derivatives market? When was the last time the U$ had a positive trade balance?
https://www.statista.com/statistics/220041/total-value-of-us-trade-balance-since-2000/
What matters is nation’s trade balance, capabilities, governance, leadership and risks. Japan has had overall positive trade balance for many years. Also, it hasn’t put sanctions on Russia yet. Russia has sent positive signals to Japan recently. Without these signals one would view Russia-Japan relationship negatively. Are Russia’s relationships better with Japan or the UK?
Russia needs to introduce multiplier effect in its sanctions rather than making them reciprocal. After the first sanction, Russia’s response doubles the counter sanctions going forward!
A nation has three OPTIONS in the global arena, depending on their motivations, resources, trade balance, capabilities and positioning:
– SHAPING the global order. It needs positive trade balance or reserve currency (Free money), and an apparatus to influence. The U.S. was in this position. This is very expensive. .
– REFORM & Reconfigure itself to be a REGIONAL power. It needs positive trade balance, strong capabilities and good leadership team. China, Russia, & EU/Germany are in this sphere. The U.S. is moving to this position because of its mistakes.
– ADAPT to the global order. Not strong, no global institutional strength. Japan adapts but is in a better position than India due to positive trade balance.
The Global Financial Empire would have liked and is still working on to bring all nations under its control. However, it is not succeeding.
“Why is Russia letting its currency FLOAT freely … How much resources has its central bank spent to prop up the ruble? ”
If the currency floats freely, then the central bank doesn’t spend anything to prop it up.
“A floating exchange rate is a regime where the currency price of a nation is set by the forex market based on supply and demand relative to other currencies. This is in contrast to a fixed exchange rate, in which the government entirely or predominantly determines the rate.”
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/floatingexchangerate.asp
What FRACTAL emerges from various financial wars (currency, trade, pricing…) launched by the Global Financial Empire? Please focus particularly on the fall of Soviet Union, 1998 Russian financial crisis, WWI, WWII,… During every crisis a major power has ended easy convertibility. Wall Street was closed for how many months during WWI? What will the U.S. do during a big war?
Nixon ended the Bretton Woods System by ending the dollar to gold convertibility “TEMPORALLY.” It has been nearly 50 years (1971) and that temporary is still going.
How do BIG SIX (Fed, BOE, ECB, Swiss…) central banks coordinate their financial attacks?
Why hasn’t China let its currency float? What are the key learnings from the Plaza Accord?
Why did Russia relied on the capital markets for government funding in 1990s? What led to Russia’s default in 1998? Why didn’t it create its money to invest productively in the best interest of Russia?
Please answer these questions to see disadvantages of letting a currency float freely. Also, there is DEMAND for which currency in Russia?
There is no such thing as a one- size fits all financial policy….China has not let its currency float because they want to maintain a lower price for their exported manufactured goods.
Russia has a commodity exporting economy. The price of its exported oil is fixed by the global commodities market and priced in USD dollars. This is why Russia has a free-floating currency that can move up and down along with the oil price and acts as a shock absorber for the economy.
(Not to mention that is also very expensive to defend a currency peg when the oil price drops)
As for your question why does Russia need capital markets: the petroleum industry is one of the most capital intensive industries that exists and needs regular investments.
Btw, printing up money for such investments is not a solution as it leads to hyperinflation (as it has in Venezuela, Iran). Both countries needed to resort to capital controls to prevent capital flight which is exactly the opposite of what you need with a capital intensive industry like oil.
Russia’s default in 1998 was partly an effect of the Asian financial crisis that year, but the underlying cause was the fact that it followed self-interested Western advice on how to run its economy. It has largely escaped from that now, which is why it has done so well since late 1999 when Yel’tsin handed over to Putin. It now does invest its money productively, and largely does so out of current income and reserves, rather than relying on debt finance. That is why Zakharova is correct to describe the growing strength and diversification of the Russian economy, including the transformation of agriculture, the move into high tech areas, and important innovations in various sectors. These sectors include the motor manufacturing sector, whose growth has been largely ignored in the West, and whose innovations are significant.
This diversification matters a lot, giving the economy an intrinsic resilience, a resilience that does not come simply from being largely self-sufficent in material inputs. Unlike Uzbekistan whose economy doubled in size after the end of the Soviet Union, owing to the devlopment of an indigenous car industry, the Russian economy can *keep* growing preciely because it keeps diversifiying, using oil and gas as ‘cash cows’ to fund the investment.
The main problem is implementation when so many people in the economic ministries and elsewhere are still stuck in the globalist ideology of the 1990s years in Russia, and seem incapable of changing their thinking and embracing the policies that underly the long-term success of the Russian economy. They are a genuine drag on economic growth in Russia, but despite that it is now probably the fifth largest economy in the world.
@Gary,
You have identified the cause of Russia’s challenge well, by stating, “The main problem is implementation when so many people in the economic ministries and elsewhere are still stuck in the globalist ideology of the 1990s years in Russia, and seem incapable of changing their thinking and embracing the policies that underly the long-term success of the Russian economy.”
The Russian finance ministry and CBR are stuck in neoliberalism and evolve slowly. They can’t develop a hybrid system like China, Japan, South Korea… They’re following Europe – West – Financial Empire, who wants to capture Russia. What a folly.
The Financial Empire has analyzed Russia well, it is aware of its strengths in defense and weaknesses in finance and media. According to the Empire, “Persistent financial crisis confronted the tsarist government following the Crimean war… It has lacked a coherent strategy to invest in its industries, commerce, and development of its markets… Another factor to exploit is its press, which in the past has publicized political debate and reinforced factional divisions among elites…” Finance & media, are the two factors identified by the Empire’s security analysts with regards to what has contributed to Russia’s repeated falls. They recommend that these factors should be exploited again to challenge Russia. The Financial Empire will launch major financial assaults and may freeze its holdings. Didn’t Britain’s finance pursue this approach to defeat Napoleon?
Russia has gained better stability than 1990s and done well in some sectors such as agriculture,… it has highly educated populace and can do better in pharmaceutical, software -IT, commodity finance,… However, it hasn’t excelled. It could have easily led in the digital payment, operating systems, IT platforms,… by offering better digital platforms that are licensed to nations or partners instead of the branded approach of Visa, PayPal, Android, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter… It hasn’t shown amazing creativity.
What was the Rubles to US$ ratio in 1990? What is it now? China’s ratio has stayed within a stable region. China has overall outperformed in many sectors because it has pursued its public finance creatively and allocated resources effectively! Hopefully, Russia will learn and diligently make a stand against MONETARY Imperialism.
Max,
The Central Bank of Russia is openly referring these assets as SDRs.
https://www.rt.com/business/522468-russia-forex-reserves-jump/
“The Central Bank holdings include liquid foreign assets, such as stocks of monetary gold, foreign currencies, and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) assets, which are at the disposal of the central bank and the government.”
China knows that its currency will face a coordinated attack like what happened in the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis. This is the reason for it not letting its currency float. Who were the drivers of that crisis? Please talk to China’s central bank officials to learn how they have prepared for this threat.
Russia can price its oil in Euros or Rubles or Yuans and create its own commodity exchange, like Yuan oil futures. It can really be very creative and define its destiny instead of just following others. It has been blessed with natural resources and it needs to make the best of that opportunity.
The point is not that Russia needs a capital market but the government borrowing from the capital markets to fund its development. China has successfully managed this state capitalism. Please refer to Michael Hudson’s lectures.
The privilege of creating money is the government’s greatest creative opportunity. It enables a government to use money to serve its citizens and not be a servant of the private Money Power. The challenge here is to allocate this money towards PRODUCTIVE endeavors (infrastructure, real economic opportunities…) and not towards consumption and speculation. It is the latter usages that drive inflation, the former drives productivity, capabilities and capacities. Russia’s big problem is capital flight and it is enabled by free floating of currency. China also has this problem but done better in managing it. This is one the reasons that China is pushing digital yuan.
Russia is an investor in IMF and thereby gets SDRs, which are one of the elements of its investment portfolio. The reference in the article is to show its portfolio structure, not that SDR drives its investment logic. Totally two different things. Please understand the difference.
Russia has built a SIEGE economy, stagnant but unusually resistant to sanctions. Now it needs to play its card creatively to win its sovereignty and address the threat of being captured into a suzerainty. China and Russia have a similar challenge and together they can address it to build a multipolar order.
Russia lost the cold war – meaning as in any other war the spoils go to the winners. Russia still does not have full sovereignty and is in danger of full out ear or criminal sanctions, or internal terrorist attacks organized by the people in high places inside who serve their western overlords
USSR lost the Cold War. Russia inherited the consequences.
U$ has also lost by pushing the debt down the road. Hitting em hard now.
Japan is currently occupied by the US. Doesn’t this make the yen one of the Financial Empire’s currencies? If it does, shouldn’t that be 85%?
Good point, Josep. I had done that purposefully to see who raises that point. There are still some good points that can be raised on the original comment. The goal is to strengthen Russia so it isn’t vulnerable to financial warfare. Most likely the first damaging assault will be financial on Russia.
Russia need to strengthen its position in its (old/new) agreements with regards to financial terms (converted to Rubles in case of adverse actions) and hold all reserves in its banks until it is out of quagmire.
The Global Financial Empire is working diligently to cut off Russia’s foreign earning potential through Nord Stream 2 and controlling other energy supplies & pipelines. It is unfortunate that Russia isn’t raising these issues to support its position. Why is it okay to deny a nation its earnings potential?
The holding of British pounds could be for technical reasons. The London financial market is the ovewhelming leader in Euro currency trading, a fact that is now doubly ironic given that the UK has left the EU. Yet while some business formerly conducted in London has now moved into the EU area (for example, a lot of trading in stocks and shares has gone to Amsterdam) it is extremely difficult (as I predicted) to move trading in Euros out of London. This is because of the massive prior investment in Euro trading, including not merely computing capacity and office space but physically very short lines of communication among the various Euro trading specialists, which enables them to keep track of billions of trade each day.
Russia may be holding British pounds at least partly to pay Euro trading fees to London. I very much doubt that it has anything to do with ‘oligarchs’. Each Russian ‘oligarch’ based in London is worth at most a few billion, and their daily transactions will be miniscule compared to Euro trading.
@Gary,
The currency allocated numbers shared are for the National Wealth Fund (NWF), medium and long term investments not the technical trading. In the numbers released yesterday, “The British pound’s [net] share was also slightly down – by 0.2 percentage points, to 6.3%.” These numbers are aggregate of all the holdings but still high.
Russia has overall positive trade balance and low debt to gdp ratio. It has positive trade balance with Britain and its imports declining from $ 9 billion to $5 billion, and exports $24 billion. In which currency is the UK paying Russia? Its overall holding are approx 30 billion pounds. Yet its currency is under attack and has to depend on foreign capital markets. How is the money created in Russia allocated – productivity, consumption and speculation?
Britain (U$A too) has run a deficit on its trade for nearly 40+ years in succession around $200+ BILLION per year. How does it pay without impacting its currency? This is like Russia enabling and funding British & Dollar Imperialism. Debtors controlling creditors?
https://www.rt.com/business/523056-russia-slashes-dollar-euro-holdings/
Thank you Saker for providing the interview with Maria Zakharova. Like all Russian Government Officials she is certainly well informed and very professional. IMHO the US has made this threat to boot Russia/China out of swift for so long now, that both countries may be much further along in their preparation to respond in a manner that is both decisive and efficient. They could be keeping their cards close to their vests.
Agree. Suspect that SWIFT is now a tar baby for both RF and PRC.
Russia is in no hurry to move out of SWIFT and its own payments system, mentioned by Zakhrova, is software-compatible with SWIFT. Russian payments are about 30 per cent of total SWIFT transactions, and so Belgium in partcicular (where SWIFT is based) and the EU in general would be hurt by a Russian withdrawal. The EU has already been badly hurt by sanctions against Russia, and contraction of its economy would simply mean a reduced market for Russian and Chinese products. The Eurozone is already in enough trouble, with massive structural problems induced by the adoption of the Euro currency which adversely affects productivity growth in southern European member countries, and results in a ‘slow bank run’ to northern EU member states’ banks. These south-to-north financial flows are called TARGET2 flows and the imbalances are growing every year, threatening the future of the Euro as a currency. Russia is well aware of this issue, and will see no point in damaging the Euro economy further.
Ill-informed members of the EU parliament have voted for the ejection of Russia from the SWIFT payments system, and the USA wants that too. The members of the EU parliament also want to stop Nord Stream 2, but if Nord Stream 2 were cancelled. Russia would simply lose a mere 4.5 billlion Euros and future gas revenues, but could resort to selling additional gas to China. (It is rumoured that such an offer from China has already been made but I have been unable to verify this.)
Anglo Saxons hate Russians and to a lesser extent the Slavic Nations. It’s time to stop the boot licking of “Our Partners” and become sovereign.
You’re missing the sarcasm, every time they say “our partners” I hear “those anuses”. No need to get vulgar ;)
“Those anuses” dont give a flying fuck what they are called by polite Russians – they are burning in a made hatred of everything Russian and want to utterly destroy it. Those who deeply care, love and want Russia to prosper are sick that the Russians do not call “those anuses” for what they are – “those anuses” ! Nothing vulgar, call a spade a spade. Thanks
Russian diplomats wil uphold high standards. I like that. Diplomat should allways stay polite and measured.
Never wrestle with pigs. You both get filthy and the pig likes it.
Outside of the bubbles of western world corridors of power, world is watching.
Russian way of patient, predictable, measured, respectfull, trustworthy diplomacy, will continue to bring benefits to Russia.
“Only Russia´s dismemberment can save the US Dollar” (Lyndon LaRouche). The assessment of this sentence should always hunt the Russian politician. The Anglo-Zionist world knows no compromise. Either you kill them or they kill you.
@nietzsche1510
Good one. Under Obama I felt we were 5 minutes from 12 from a nuclear attack by NATO on Russia. Then came the Kalibr missiles and after the Vanguard missiles were exposed. Somehow it was all set on hold under Trump.
I dont see them having another nuclear chance now, but they will try all other hybrid options to divide Russia.
We can be certain of that.
I doubt that they truly hate Russians any more than they truly hate American proles. It’s not that they particularly like them, but that they honestly don’t care about them, and they make a useful foil for the real agenda which is to continue funneling money up to the wealthy and to arms manufacturers. It’s a case of “whosoever isn’t my pay master is a rag doll to be used up and sucked dry under the rubric of a manufactured crisis.”
When Russians are no longer vulnerable to international abuse they’ll turn their war ever more inward, and then it will be Americans tearing one another apart in the streets in ways that no one has seen since the 60’s.
China is a tighter knot simply because so many American businesses make a killing on their manufacturing operations in that country. It’s why they blew Trump out of office, because he didn’t know enough to ratchet up those cold war expenditures without stepping on the toes of industries that actually have factories in those lands.
@WM
”Those who deeply care, love and want Russia to prosper are sick that the Russians do not call ’those anuses’ for what they are – ’those anuses’ ”
Wrong. I have a strong and hardened pro-Russian (including pro-USSR) outlook, but I’m fully satisfied and slightly amused by the present screamfests against Russia and China — they are irrefutable proof that these two countries and especially their current leaderships are outing the collective West as the debris it is (with a little help from the West’s politicos and presstitutes).
Don’t get me wrong: Less articulate outbursts of rage have their merit too. I always take pleasure reading the Zaporozhian Cossacks’ letter to their arch-enemy Sultan Mehmed IV (if you haven’t seen the text, go read it online!). Really, if I had some authority in the Kremlin, I would summon Vladimir Zhirinovsky with the task of writing something similar to the Euro-trash and the US neocons, LOL. But Vladimir Zhirinovsky is a court jester whereas Maria Zakharova is a highly-trained and superb professional diplomat.
We, the Russians, have a one golden rule – do not get involved in an argument with an idiot, never-ever, because you can not win in this argument – first he will force you to lower yourselves to his level, and then he will barter you with experience.
Russia gives an example of civilized behaviour for other nations. It is important to show them that it would never descend to the level of vulgarity and boorishness of the cow-boys.
You can see the difference in training, in commitment and in humanity. If I consider European or American people in comparable positions, then what is happening to the Western world is a matter of law.
As an American it is incredibly embarrassing to read transcripts such as this. We have nobody….not a single person in government as intellectually capable, as well-spoken, as knowledgeable as Maria Zakharova or Lavrov or Putin for that matter…and I am sure there are others
All we get from our leaders…our think tanks…is low-brow hot air blown up our behinds. 8th grade (at best) grasp of history and geopolitics. I can hardly read the articles posted in The Saker…it is just too humiliating.
Don’t feel too bad. It’s not like America is an actual democracy, But hey, the CIA is now intersectional, so now there’s a chance that someone might get waterboarded by a lesbian if they try to liberate their own country from the ploys of Wall Street and the bankers. Human progress!
As an Australian I concur with your general sentiment. Maria Zakharova’s encyclopaedic knowledge and competence in all political contexts is truly awe-inspiring.
But I’m not embarrassed by this, not in the least. Apart from an occasional prodigy once every couple of decades, I have no expectation of diplomatic excellence or political competence from the Australian political class. After all, butt-sucking toadies are entirely sufficient to manage the affairs of a Team America ® colony like Australia.
I once watched Maria Zakharova on a late- night TV talk show that clearly imitated the usual American format. She was very quick-witted and extremely funny, to the point where the talk show host gave up trying to make the jokes and resigned himself to being the straight guy to Zakharova. The audience was roaring with laughter, and surely knew that such a spontaneous sharp wit is the product of real intelligence. Mentioning this to a Russian at a conference, I discovered that she speaks Mandarin Chinese and is an expert on China.
Russia does not do amateurism in its foreign relations. There are about 6 Deputy Foreign Ministers, and the ones that I have seen in action at international conferences are supremely professional. They can chair multi-national discussions very competently indeed, at a level that I can assure you was quite beyond the understanding of a British diplomat attending such sessions. He simply did recognise the extent to which he was out of his depth.
Looks like the Russians are making a last ditch effort to make the US and the West see sense.e or
The US is ideologically driven. For the US it is Full Spectrum Dominance or bust.
The US will take it to its logical conclusion- nuclear war to maintain its hegemony.
Rocky times ahead.
Logic would prevent nuclear war. If your goal is to maintain hegemony, being blasted into ashes and radioactive rubble doesn’t get you hegemony. So rational thinking would prevent war. Thus, MAD.
So, only a complete nihilist death wish takes you to nuclear war. There is no goal beyond that.
Russia and Putin understand that.
They are now trying to find Westerners who can comprehend that concept.
In order to maintain their own survival, the Russians pursue diplomatic safe harbors for the Western states to move to. It’s tedious work. The vassals and the various elite structures in the US are quite retarded students of reality.
But the hard, cold reality is that Russia can obliterate the entire West and will do so if it is attacked.
There are signs that the Liberals are far weaker than the neocons sector and can be manipulated.
Putin versus Biden/Blinken and the genderized military and social warriored corporations gives me great hope. The intrinsic character flaws of the ideological Liberals can be exploited and Putin is in the process of doing that.
He has faced much tougher enemies, implacable terrorists, criminals, traitors and sell-out weaklings.
He’s “working, brothers”.
May Almighty God grant President Putin a longer, healthier life. Amen. He is a living example of what a capable leader can do to the destiny of a country and its people. May he always be guided by Truth. Amen. The truth that came from Prophet Jesus (peace and blessing of God be upon him and his blessed mother).
It sparkled my eyes to see him yet again go to Easter service at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow this year. He always visits the houses of God(church’s/cathedrals) on other religious occasions. He demonstrates by his actions what religion has to offer to politics – being God fearing, be of clear conscience, genuine care of the people, honesty, integrity, love, patience, truthfulness and forbearance.
I can go on – but I will end here – maybe for another day. Thanks to The Saker for this great blog !
Larchmonter,
Adherence to an ideology regardless of facts is not rational.
And this is the stage that the US is at the moment.
To an ideologue it does not matter if the whole world burns as long as the ideology can be preserved and spread. In fact they might even prefer massive destruction as it would enable them to start from scratch. We have seen it before- Pol Pot comes to mind.
Let’s hope you are correct. But I don’t see it heading in that direction.
What a pleasure to read such a literate and knowledgeable discourse on current events. There is no one in the western political firmament capable of making statements like this…they all deal in sound bites to match the attention span of their bovine populi. I strongly suspect that both Russia and China have SWIFT replacements tested, warmed up and ready to go. America must throw them out of SWIFT and not the other way around as if the RF and PRC were to suddenly dump the dollar the Pindos might well take it as a suitable ‘casus belli’. I have no doubt that Putin, Lavrov and Shoigu (that well known firm) have this already gamed this out, and are trying to defang the Empire without it blowing up the world. Left to it’s own devices the Empire appears to be thrashing in death throes, but that is when it is at its most dangerous….
Yes Russia beat China to it when it came to developing a software-compatible alternative to SWIFT but China caught up quickly, and now has two such alternatives, and of course they are thereby software-compatible with each other’s systems. The acronyms of both of China’s payments systems are mentioned by someone else in a comment above. As Zakharova states, the Russian one has been up and running for about 3 years.
They also have currency swap arrangements with various countries, as also mentioned by Lavrov in an earlier interview posted on The Saker website. These arrangements are having an impact:
https://southfront.org/for-the-first-time-ever-russia-drops-under-50-of-exports-sold-in-u-s-dollars/
This piece was later re-posted on the Zero Hedge website, so it is good to see South Front getting still wider coverage, given the sanctions being imposed on it.
I wish I were a fly on the wall to hear what Zakharova means when she states:
‘At the same time, Russia is vigorously exploring the opportunities provided by modern digital technologies and the potential of their use to increase the sustainability, stability and independence of the national financial system and means of payment, with a clear understanding that digital money can become the foundation of an updated international financial system and cross-border transactions in the future.’
Speaking of digital technologies, aside from Bitcoin, one of the currencies traded these days is developed by the San Francisco based company Ripple. Its currency, XRP is in the top 10, currently #4 in size.
While Bitcoin was developed in response to the unstable US dollar system, it is very slow and expensive to make transactions. The second largest, Ethereum is an improvement, but also slow and expensive.
XRP cuts cost and transaction times by 100X plus. It’s therefore seen as a direct competitor with SWIFT and many central banks are considering using it as a bridge currency, thus cutting the SWIFT middleman out. SWIFT is also used to bludgeon countries, by cutting them off from doing trade.
Thus, XRP is a direct threat because it is a decentralized means of doing international trade. And guess what. The Securities and Exchange Commission slapped a lawsuit on it, the last day of the Trump administration, claiming it is a security, (eg stock) not a currency.
But XRP is fighting the lawsuit. The SEC case seems to be weak, but when can the US government expect to play fairly when the interests of the bankers are undercut by scrappy upstarts?
https://zycrypto.com/xrp-to-hit-50-if-ripple-grabs-10-of-swifts-market-share/
https://blockchaininfo.group/xrp-next-global-paymen-provider/
Full disclosure, I own several digital currencies, as a refuge from the US dollar, including XRP. As the US isolates itself by weaponizing the dollar, as Ms. Zakharova points out, holders of US dollars will be left holding the bag.
Likewise, China has been financing the US budget deficit for decades. That deficit is financing the US military, which is encircling China (and Russia). What happens when China stops buying US debt? Or sells it? The dollar will crash. That is why China is loading up on gold and developing its own digital currency.
This is, in my opinion, why digital currencies have been outperforming all other asset classes in recent years, despite wild, breathtaking price swings.
‘It’s the debt, stupid’.
https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/xtegh9-external-debt-in-countries-around-the-world
Those with the loudest dissenting voices are those at the top of this list. It’s 2 years old, apologies.
The US I believe is noe c.27+Trillion with a 4T infrastructure package to come. The UK, astonishingly second on this list, has just endured its worst economic downturn for 300 years. From the horses mouth, mind boggling numbers for a small island with a big mouth and an aircraft carrier ! No wonder they want to start something, anything, anywhere. I believe they have two destroyers on their way to the Black Sea, and their flat top with entourage (apparently flying a Union Jack and Stars and Stripes) on its way to China.
I’m not an economist by any stretch of the imagination, but these sums cannot be repaid. The last time I read a figure for Russia’s debt it was 468 billion. This year I believe. Comparatively, astonishing. And this under sanctions. The west must collectively be tearing their hair out.
Also, according to Alastair Macleod gold money.com in his most recent interview with liberty and finance.com said he believed China had in excess of 20,000 tons of gold, and that Russia had 14,000 tons. Obviously this cannot be confirmed, but I believe Macleod is not given to hyperbole, and is a pretty straight guy.
I have no idea why Russia holds pounds euros or yen, their dollar holdings I believe have reduced from over 100B to around 6B. The latter is definitely a move in the right direction.
I also believe Russia can pay off all or part of its foreign debt if need be quite comfortably.
Thank you all, and Saker, for your input here, very much appreciated.
UK Foreign Minister meets Blunken…Nato summit later in summer
“I also want to thank the United Kingdom, for joining us in holding Russia to account for its reckless and aggressive actions”, Blinken said during a briefing. “We have reaffirmed our unwavering support for the independent sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, which I’ll be visiting later this week. I also welcomed the Foreign Secretary’s recent announcement on the extension of global Magnitsky sanctions to combat Russian human rights abuses.”
Sighs. Sounds like definitely avoiding and working round any potential useful point of view the EU might develop eventually. But not evidenced here
https://sptnkne.ws/Ggsa
Extract
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Senior EU officials summoned the Russian ambassador to the bloc, Vladimir Chizhov, on Monday to criticise Moscow’s decision to ban eight European citizens from entering the country, in retaliation to similar EU sanctions. European Commission Secretary-General Ilze Juhansone and External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino informed the diplomat of the “strong rejection and firm condemnation by the EU institutions and EU Member States of this decision.” “The EU reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response”, the statement read. The EU functionaries also expressed their “grave concern for the cumulative impact” of Russia’s expulsion of Czech diplomats and the Russian president’s executive order related to “unfriendly states” on Brussels-Moscow relations…….”
U K is sending some jets against ISIS from its carrier on its first mission…..showing solidarity.
France hauled in Russian Ambassador too….
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202105041082799282-russian-ambassador-to-france-summoned-by-foreign-ministry-over-sanctions-against-european-officials/
…mean while Lukashenko in Belarus has been dealing with tens and tens of staff and ex staff members depriving them of ranks….sacking them etc for dereliction or negation of responsibilities and duties in the recent crisis..plus chief participants in recent protests against elections are being tried jailed…..Russian Rep at UN slams equivalent Bosnia Herzogovinia for stirring up trouble against Serbia( who recently said they would never apply sanctions against Russia)….hotting up in the diplomatic world folks.
Interestingly UK press claims UK Steele made a second dossier…..Alex. Mercouris has an “interesting thought” examining some phrases after recent Lavrov -Kiselev interview that perfidious UK is somehow making overtures to Moscow but only to ensure that EU is bypassed and locked out as part of the plan ….to claim some kind of leverage and monopolise some kind of contact…seems kinda delusional considering my earlier comment and the recent history of UK russophobic hysteria…..no worries Lavrov has seen right through that..is how I think I understood that. Hmm.
Oh and Le Pen won the court case against her for promulgating violence when she posted videos to counteract an interviewer that her organisation was similar to Isis. Macron could be on the way out eventually?
Max ,Nietzsche 1510 ,and Emmanuel Goldstein I agree with your anyalais
The Russia central back is controled by Elvira Nabiullia and her group (not in russia’s interest ) the sooner
Russia / China leaves the Swift system the better ,The other Easter countries will follow ,I think Russia has been
moving slowly ,It does not want an all out Nuclear War they have been working on a missile defence
System to make sure that no missile could penertrate Russia , I’am not sure if it completed ?
Yes ! the Empire is in it’s Death Throes.
Either you kill them or they kill You ! They want to Destroy Russia ! this goes back to the 9 th century.
Tom
Well-articulated and absolutely convincing as usual. The effect of Maria Zakharova, Sergei Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, and Sergei Shoigu upon the collective West resembles a bunch of proud, smelly drunkards being offered fresh and delicious carrot juice: ”We will have none of that % # ^ * stinking p••s, mind you”.
At bottom, I find it most comforting that Russia’s hard-core adversaries do stay the course. In the past, what I used to fear was that some sweet-talking, wily Western power brokers might succeed in catching Russia’s and China’s governments off guard. Looking at present-day realities, the West hasn’t only lost its erstwhile industrial and fiscal base; it has lost any ability to learn anything of substance. Imbecilification and infantilization reign supreme.
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response. It occurs when hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers. This psychological connection develops over the course of the days, weeks, months, or even years of captivity or abuse.
This abuse from the West began immediately after WWII and continues to today. Cinema, TV, books, government edicts etc. perpetuate this onslaught of abuse.
How do you break out of this without lashing back?
@Prospector
I was never convinced of denoting this phenomenom ”Stockholm syndrome”. As you indicate, it’s human nature. However, it’s in fact different from an abused spouse whose spirit has been broken to the point of losing the basic survival instincts. What transpired in September 1973 that gave birth to the concept of ”Stockholm syndrome”, by contrast, amounted to survival instincts on full display. The bank robbers’ hostages clearly realised their lives were hanging in the balance in case the Swedish police were to resolve the conflict forcefully. With apparently ”sympathetic” criminals tending to their hostages, the latters’ reaction was absolutely adequate, whatever the moral implications.
Back on topic: I find very little ”Stockholm syndrome” (or beaten spouse syndrome, for that matter) in the present Russian leadership, thank God. It has the wits, the spine, and the resources to defeat a terminally sick and totally incompetent West. Sure, just like the hostages locked up in the bank in Stockholm almost half a century ago, Russia also has her survival instincts intact, even dealing with criminals having none of them.
Hopefully the present Russian leadership will not be led down the garden path as Gorbachev was. Blue jeans and juicy fruit bubble gum and Reagan had him in the palm of his hand. The rest was a disaster for the Russian people.
NS-2 suspended until the end of May. So the month is lost.
Crazed environmentalists (quite redundant, I know) are worried about birds nesting in the waters. Of course, even the Germans laugh. The waters are 20 meters deep, not some marshland. But the process by the lunatics goes on.
Haven’t environmentalists wasted the last 50 years with obstructionist tactics?
Everyone wants clean water, clean air, protection of habitats, concern for the balance in nature.
Instead, we get legal trip wires like this bogus effort.
Germany needs natural gas. It needs energy and soon will get green hydrogen through the same pipelines.
How would a war effect those birds? War always has an economic basis. And Germany going into depression is a fast track to serious upheaval in Europe.
Like California. Environmentalists fought every new technology until its stupid windmills decimated the eagles.
https://www.eagles.org/take-action/wind-turbine-fatalities/
Soon, Alexey Navalny will be found floating around in these waters with a note stating:
The “environmental ” movement became useful idiots , ripe for exploitation by those so inclined , many decades ago.
I know : as an organic farmer , I hosted a George Soros -funded educational tour.
All part of the plan.
Green terror is just around the corner.
NGO’s and Environmentalist are political tools, political prostitutes. All of them make their actions after funding and directives to promote some global corporation’s interest.
America, the “MASTERBLASTER” from the movie “Thunderdome” a giant moron ridden on and directed by Twisted Jewish Dwarves ……..
The Russia hate is another manifestation of Jewish control of America. The Jews HATE Putin & Russia because Putin stopped their looting of Russian assets under the drunk Yeltsin.
Just as they did during the Wiemar hyper inflation in Germany the Jews had money shipped in from overseas and were buying up assets at pennies on the dollar.
That led to huge resentment of Jews in Germany and again in Russia.
The Jewish Deep State behind Clinton sent a planeload of “democracy advisors” to Moscow in the 90’s. They were actually an economic wrecking crew that looted the vulnerable Russian people of $TRILLIONS. The ensuing societal collapse killed ten million Russians (4 million were kids).
99% of bad things you hear about Russia is Jewish smear.
Putin is the only SuperPower leader standing up for Western European CHRISTIAN Democratic Civilization. Merkel and the TREASONOUS Brussels Politicians have thrown open the GATES of the CITY to GENOCIDAL Refujihadi INVADERS who have been pushed that way by US/NATO actions and Israeli deceit. http://investmentwatchblog.com/putin-criticizes-western-countries-for-abandoning-christian-roots/
Putin’s big crime in the mind of our REAL rulers is he did not make any effort to put communism back into place in the former USSR. He made common bond with the Orthodox Christian Church and even encouraged the rebuilding of Christian churches all over the former atheistic USSR. http://investmentwatchblog.com/putin-calls-for-cultural-self-preservation-of-europe-from-impure-globalist-agenda/
From Netanyahu’s infamous “Fink’s Bar diatribe” of 1990
“If we get caught they will just replace us with persons of the same cloth. So it does not matter what you do, America is a golden calf and we will suck it dry, chop it up, and sell it off piece by piece until there is nothing left but the world’s biggest welfare state that we will create and control. Why? Because it is the will of God and America is big enough to take the hit so we can do it again and again and again. This is what we do to countries that we hate. We destroy them very slowly and make them suffer for refusing to be our slaves.”