Puppet Masters

Former Kiev minister say anti-Russia sanctions are threat to Ukraine too

Layla Guest
RT
Sun, 06 Feb 2022 19:45 UTC

Moscow has previously warned that its disconnection from the SWIFT financial service would be felt across Europe

Should the West follow through on its threats to shut Russia off from the SWIFT financial transaction system, Ukraine would soon also feel the sting and be left in a difficult position, Kiev's former economy minister has cautioned.

Speaking as part of an appearance on Ukraine's Channel 4 on Thursday, Viktor Suslov, who served in the government from 1997-1998, set out how disconnecting Moscow from the global payment service would impact its neighbor.

"If we transport gas and Russia cannot pay for it, will Ukraine transit for free? Of course not," he explained. According to the politician, support from the International Monetary Fund would not save Kiev, because cash alone cannot replace gas or nuclear fuel.

Suslov went on, adding that tensions between the two former Soviet republics "should be solved through diplomatic negotiations."

His remarks come amid threats from the West to punish Moscow if its troops were to invade Ukraine, despite the Kremlin repeatedly insisting it has no plans to stage an incursion. In December, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that no one would benefit if the world's largest country was locked out of the payment system.

"They only screw themselves over, as they say," he explained, pointing out that "Russia is a participant in the global market." The minister also said the move would hinder European companies that actively trade with Moscow, as well as consumers of its hydrocarbons.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Economic Cooperation Department, Dmitry Birichevsky, also doubted the logistics of cutting Russia off from SWIFT, given that it is run by a private international company headquartered in Belgium, and there is no clear mechanism for American officials to persuade it to do so.

In December, US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland revealed that Washington, alongside a number of its partners in Western Europe, is considering isolating Moscow from the global financial system in the event of a full-blown offensive against Ukraine.

Just the day before Nuland's threat, news outlet Bloomberg published a report which suggested that the US could target major Russian banks and even disconnect Moscow from SWIFT.

In December, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping had stressed during talks the need to develop shared financial structures which foreign states will be unable to influence.

Comment: Ukraine isn't the only country concerned about U.S. intentions:

German minister warns of 'system collapse' if Russia blocked from SWIFT, EU switch to Chinese payment system would cause 'serious damage'

Is Russia worried? Nyet.

Reader Comments

alexal60 · 2022-02-07T13:17:40Z

The United States is trying to find more disagreements with Russia, provoking Moscow, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is legitimately protecting his country's interests , said far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour.

"Vladimir Putin defends his interests, he is a patriot of Russia. It is legitimate for him to defend Russia's interests, " Zemmour told France Inter radio.

" When you say that the United States only cares about China ... yes, it is their favorite rival. And they want to drag us into conflict with China. But they are also engaged in Europe to enslave Western Europe, which demands it, this it is voluntary slavery. And (the US is trying to) find more disagreements with Russia to divide Germany, France and Russia. This is an old American thesis written by (Zbigniew) Brzezinski, a former adviser to (Barack) Obama and Jimmy Carter. And don't fall in love , "

According to him, "the Americans did a lot to provoke (Vladimir) Putin by deploying troops everywhere, very close to Russia. " Zemmour has already spoken out in favor of lifting the European sanctions against Russia.

French presidential candidate of the right-wing Rally National party, Marine Le Pen, has promised that the country will withdraw from NATO if it wins the election.

"We must freely defend our interests, get out of the logic of military blocs ... Therefore, we will leave NATO joint command so that we can no longer be drawn into other people's conflicts, " Le Pen said Saturday, speaking in Reims to a meeting with his constituents.

During the meeting, the audience was shown video messages from politicians from other countries, including Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal, supporting Le Pen's candidacy in the presidential elections. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also expressed support for her.

The presidential elections in France will be held in April 2022. Some candidates have already declared their intention to run for the presidency. Among them are the party leader of the National Gathering Marine Le Pen, the center-right Republican party candidate Valerie Pecresse, the far-right leader of the Reconquest (Reconquête) party Eric Zemmour, the head of the left-wing Unsubdued France Jean- Luc Mélenchon, member of the "Europe - Ecology - The Greens" party Yannick Jadot, national secretary of the Communist Party Fabien Roussel, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, candidate in the elections of the Socialist Party, former French minister of justice Christian Tobira.The incumbent president Emmanuel Macron has not yet officially announced his participation in the election race.

alexal60 · 2022-02-07T13:22:16Z

NATO's eastward expansion will lead to the "death" of the North Atlantic Alliance , Dogu Perincek, general secretary of Turkey's Vatan (Homeland) party.

" Indeed, the enlargement of the alliance is a threat to NATO itself, it will lead to its" death ". There is a hole, an abyss for NATO. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's visits to China and Turkey are a kind of "grave" for NATO, therefore historically important, "the politician said.

At the same time, Perincek stressed that NATO expansion is a threat not only to Russia, but also to Turkey, Iran and China .

"The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China, and then to Ankara, symbolizes a road map not only for the region, but also for the world, aimed at peace and mutual understanding. The visit, in a certain sense, takes on a line against the US threat of war in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Sea, "Strait of Hormuz. This is a kind of message that Russia, Turkey, China and Iran are acting together. Only these four countries are capable of preventing NATO expansion to the east. NATO expansion to the east is a threat to Russia, Turkey, Iran and China, "

alexal60 · 2022-02-07T14:17:30Z

If Congress has not declared war against a country, then there IS no “enemy,” and so no Constitutional excuse such as “There is legitimate need to keep secrets from the American public, lest they fall into the hands of our enemies.”

Then it’s simply the Government against its own public.Was not the U.S. Government’s Big Lie to the American people in 2002 and early 2003, against (and that destroyed) Iraq, sufficient proof that the U.S. Government CAN be the enemy of its own public (and not ONLY be the enemy of its ‘enemies’, such as Iraq)? Furthermore, many subsequent instances of the U.S. Government’s lying to the American people have likewise subsequently become disclosed. A few such instances are here and here and here and here and here and here and here......................

The U.S. Government routinely lies through its teeth regarding international relations (and even regarding some domestic matters), but it especially lies to its public regarding international relations (which is specifically the field that Joyner was saying the U.S. Government NEVER lies about to the American people). Is ZOMBIDEN therefore a patriot, or a traitor, or something else, to lie to America’s soldiers about whether they — AND AMERICA’S PRESS — are obligated NEVER publicly to question the U.S. Government’s honesty and truthfulness? If such stupidity is being described to America’s troops (and to America’s press) as being an obligation, then is that patriotic, treacherous, or what? Who, or what, is the real enemy, of the people?

Neoconservatism is bipartisan in the U.S. Congress, and also in the U.S. White House, and ‘news’-media; it’s not ONLY what produced the lies that made the U.S. and UK Governments rape Iraq in 2003. The only significant difference between the situation in 2002 and now is that, whereas, then, the U.S./UK regime were targeting only countries that had friendly relations with Russia and with China, nowadays the global-imperialist regime is going for blood against what has been, ever since 1945, its two main targets to conquer. The U.S. and UK Governments are (or else are pretending to be) ready now to go for World War 3, in order to attain their dream (since 1877 in UK) of world-conquest:

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Puppet Masters

Former Kiev minister say anti-Russia sanctions are threat to Ukraine too

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