Russia has assumed this Saturday the monthly rotating presidency of the UN Security Council amid criticism from Ukraine and its allies, who remind Moscow of its repeated mockery of the international legal system.

Each of the 15 members, five permanent and 10 rotating, that make up the Security Council assume the presidency for one month. The last time Russia chaired the UN’s highest decision-making body was in February 2022, when it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It is also the first time that the president of a country that presides over the Security Council has an international arrest warrant for war crimes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the injunction last month for the forced deportation of minors from Ukrainian orphanages.

The presidential position does not grant special prerogatives, although the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasili Nebenzia, has highlighted in statements to the Russian news agency TASS that it will allow them to “supervise” certain debates, including the one related to arms control. Thus, they will raise the need for “a new world order” that “replaces the unipolar order.”

Ukraine has insistently protested that Russia take over the presidency of the Security Council, but the United States has responded that it cannot prevent Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council and with veto power, from assuming the post. The United States, the United Kingdom, France and China also have veto rights.

The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, has responded that “unfortunately Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, so there is no practical legal way to avoid that reality.” He has also warned that Moscow will “continue to use its seat on the Council to spread disinformation” and justify its invasion of Ukraine.

From Kiev they have expressed their absolute rejection and their Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dimitro Kuleba, has described the fact as “a bad joke” that has been linked to the Day of the Innocents of the Anglo-Saxon tradition, April’s Fool’s Day, which is celebrated precisely April 1.

“Russia has usurped its place,” said Kuleba, whose government has been calling for greater forcefulness against Moscow within the UN for a year. “The world cannot be a safe place with Russia on the Security Council,” added the minister, using the hashtag #InsecurityCouncil in his message.

For Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak it is “another violation of international law.” Russia, “an entity that wages an aggressive war, violates the rules of International Humanitarian Law and Criminal Law, destroys the UN Charter and neglects nuclear security cannot preside over the most important security organization in the world,” he pointed out.

Source: dpa

(Reference image source: Marek Studzinski, Unsplash)

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The Italian oil company Eni announced the opening of bank accounts in euros and items in the Russian financial entity Gazprombank in order to carry out the necessary transactions for the supply of Russian gas and thus comply with the new regulations required by Moscow.

These guidelines consist of “opening an account in the currency provided for in the contract, making a payment in that currency and making a statement saying that this is how the payment for the gas delivery in question is closed,” said the European official.

According to the information provided by the company, “the payment obligation can be fulfilled by transferring euros and this procedure should not be incompatible with the sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.”

The Eni oil group, controlled by 30.3 % of its shares by the Italian State, stressed that the Russian authorities have guaranteed that “invoicing and payment will continue to be made in euros”, as it is the currency established in the contracts and in within 48 hours a financial operator will make the change to rubles, without the intervention of the central bank of Russia.

Payment for Russian gas in stages

As will be recalled, the European Commission recommended not to open accounts in currencies other than those established in the contracts. The opening of an account in rubles would be violating the sanctions established against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

In principle, the Russian government established that countries interested in acquiring gas must pay in items. But a new Kremlin decree introduced a two-stage payment method consisting of two phases. First, making the payment in the currency of the contract, that is, dollars or euros, in a Russian bank. The second phase is to convert that money into rubles in an account of the same institution.

With this new procedure, the Russian central bank does not intervene in financial transactions, for which the sanctions established by the United States and the European Union will not be violated.

M. Rodríguez

Source: swissinfo.ch

La entrada Italian oil company opens ruble accounts to pay for Russian gas apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending visa facilitation agreements with the European Union (EU), Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The decree, published this Monday by the Kremlin, emerges as a “necessary” response to the “hostile actions of the EU” that arose after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to several news agencies.

By virtue of this new measure approved by Putin, the simplified process for delivery of documentation on the reasons for the trip to Russia is suspended; as well as multiple visas, normally given to journalists or official delegations.

Five-year visas for parliamentarians or members of governments of the sanctioned countries are also suspended; The exemption from visa fees for official delegations is eliminated, as well as entry into Russia without the need for a visa for holders of diplomatic passports.

In this line, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also approved restricting the access and permanence in the country to those “foreign citizens and stateless persons who commit hostile acts against Russia, its citizens or legal entities”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov already announced last week that the Kremlin was in the process of developing a law through which measures would be taken against countries that had taken “hostile actions” against Moscow.

Source: dpa

La entrada Russia cuts visa deals with EU countries apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The Moscow Stock Exchange restarted its operations with shares, after having been closed since last February 25 in what has been the longest period of closure of the Moscow stock market. It reopened although with a series of limitations, including reduced trading hours and the prohibition of short positions.

After some first downward crosses, where the selective MOEX, denominated in rubles, fell 0.6 %, while the RTS, quoted in dollars, lost 14.49 %, both indices turned around and traded in positive.

According to data from the Russian agency Tass, the price of the selective MOEX after the first hour of trading rebounded 10.21 %, while that of the RTS index had covered its losses to 4.55 %. Trading is only allowed on a list of 33 stocks out of the 45 that make up the MOEX index. Likewise, operations can be carried out between 9:50 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Moscow local time.

The Bank of Russia also imposed a ban on investors opening short positions on the 33 securities that will be listed again, while the operations of the derivative contracts for the MOEX and for the individual shares will be carried out between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., as usual.

K. Tovar

Source: La Vanguardia

La entrada Moscow stock exchange resumes operations apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The investment bank Goldman Sachs announced the suspension of its activities in Russia, thus becoming the first large Wall Street bank to announce a measure that has already been previously adopted by numerous multinational companies.

The financial institution spread the news through an official statement stating: “Goldman Sachs is closing its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements.”

Likewise, they maintain that they will continue to support their clients around the world in the “management or closing of pre-existing obligations in the market and guarantee the well-being of our people.”

After the decision, Goldman Sachs shares fell 2.43 % on Wall Street by mid-morning, on a bad day for the financial sector.

Russia with little impact on the business

Goldman Sachs Groups Inc has been present in Russia in recent years, but according to information provided by the entity “the country does not represent a significant part of its global banking business“, some 650 million dollars in credit risk by 2021.

Goldman’s exit is more symbolic as it is the first financial institution to suspend its operations as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which could induce a cascade of similar movements to other entities, as has happened with companies in other sectors.

Other US banks also have little presence in Russia. One of them is Citigroup, which has 3,000 employees at its Russian offices and had $9.8 billion in loans, assets and venture capital by the end of 2021.

M. Rodríguez

Source: iproup.com

La entrada Goldman Sachs announces the suspension of operations in Russia apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The two main selective of the Moscow Stock Exchange fell around 30 % after Russia began a military operation in Ukraine with the aim of demilitarizing and “denazifying” the country, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Moex index, denominated in rubles, has experienced a fall of 36.3 %, to stand at 1,965.19 points, compared to 3,084.74 integers at which it had closed on Wednesday. Since its highs in the past year, the index has plunged 54 %.

The other great selective of the Russian parquet, the RTS, denominated in dollars, plummeted 41.13 % in the first hours of trading, to 708.86 integers. On Wednesday, the selection had closed at 1,204.11 points. Since its highs in the last year, this index has accumulated a drop of 63 %.

The value of the ruble continues to decline, as in recent weeks. The euro has strengthened by 6.4 %, while the dollar has strengthened by 6.82 %. In this way, the European currency is exchanged in the markets for 97.75 rubles, while the ‘green ticket’ is traded for 86.68 rubles.

K. Tovar

Source: La informacion

La entrada Moscow stock market falls 30 % after attack on Ukraine apareció primero en Bitfinance.

This Friday, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Riabkov, communicated the conditions of the country to maintain a peaceful coexistence with NATO and the United States. These requirements are based on the need not to repeat events of the past, respect the non-aggression pact, avoid the deployment of nuclear weapons as well as military activity in Ukraine.

Riabkov pointed out: “When our relations, because of Washington, approach a critical point, it is necessary in the most urgent way to take concrete steps to reduce the degree of confrontation.”

He highlighted in Moscow the conditions to put an end to the tensions generated by the possible inclusion of Ukraine in the Atlantic Alliance, with the corresponding mobilization of Russian troops to the border. According to the Kremlin, this claim constitutes “a non-negotiable red line.”

Russia sets conditions for the US and NATO

On the issue of nuclear weapons, which directly involves the US, the Russian government proposes a new treaty to prevent the deployment of such weapons outside the borders of the two countries. In addition, it proposes a commitment by both parties to destroy the existing infrastructures for nuclear weapons, as well as the suspension of tests.

Russia has also drafted an agreement with at least nine requests to NATO, particularly aimed at the bloc “desisting from all military activity on the territory of Ukraine and several countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.”

Putin, for his part, remains firm in his anti-war position manifested on December 7 during the virtual summit with the president of the United States, Joe Biden. The Russian president insists on a kind of new “non-aggression pact” for peaceful coexistence, without armed conflicts, short and medium-range missiles, strategic bombers or military infrastructures that constitute a reason for confrontation between nations.

M.Pino

Source: reddenoticias

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A Russian court imposed a fine of 2.6 million rubles ($ 34,000) on the social network for creating and sharing videos TikTok for failing to remove information about the protests in favor of the jailed opponent Alexéi Navalni in the month of January.

According to information provided by the Interfax news agency, a Moscow court found the Chinese social network guilty of “an administrative offense for failing to remove information that urged adolescents to participate in unauthorized protests.“

In addition, the court was also going to analyze two alleged infractions against the Russian social network Telegram for a similar infraction. However, it was postponed due to the absence of the parties, according to the agency, Ría Nóvosti.

It should be noted that the Russian telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said that it was going to impose fines on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, for non-compliance with the regulations in that country. It was known that Kontakte and Odnoklassniki (similar to Facebook) will also be sanctioned.

Source: elsumario

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The Central Bank of Russia has announced the start of pilot tests with the digital ruble for execution at the end of 2021, as reported by the entity’s deputy governor, Alexey Zabotkin to local Prime news agency.

The senior executive affirmed that the strategy is to complete a prototype of the digital ruble by the end of 2021, which will not admit “real transactions”, but will serve as a pilot plan to build the ecosystem.

In addition, Zabotkin reported: “Based on this prototype, including refinement, we will begin to implement test rounds next year”. His statements reaffirm Russia’s intention to create a CBDC that goes into circulation in 2022.

At the end of February, the first deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, Olga Skorobogatova, announced that the bank is still working on the development of a concept on the chosen model of the digital ruble, assuring that the bank has not ruled out the possibility of charging commissions for transfers between digital ruble wallets.

All these plans were announced on the occasion of an online event organized by the New Moscow School of Economics.

K. Villarroel

Source: cointelegraph

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