Declining trust in the dollar due to the US sanctions policy.
According to “TAS” news agency, Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, commented on the new round of American economic sanctions and announced that Washington’s sanctions have convinced the countries of the world about the dangers of the dollar-based system.
Antonov emphasized that Washington’s efforts to exert pressure through the policy of sanctions not only on Russia but also on third countries with the aim of “making everyone dance to the dollar instrument” have no results and will lead to failure.
He said: “The Americans, who have realized that their sanctions measures have not been as effective as they would like, resort to action in any direction.” They embargo ships and restrict the export of high-tech products. <…> All these actions only strengthen the belief in the rational part of the world community that the dollar-based system has significant risks.
The diplomat also pointed out that US sanctions, which have become a political sport, will only increase global interest in alternative channels for economic relations and accelerate the movement towards a multipolar world. He added: “Washington should award the medal of its sanctions victories only to itself.”
Two days earlier, the US Treasury Department had imposed sanctions on the Russia Today TV channel, its editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, and several other Russian individuals and entities for allegedly meddling in the US presidential election.
Moscow will respond appropriately to Western sanctions against Russian media
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s official spokesman, also emphasized in an interview with the TASS news agency that Russia should respond appropriately to the restrictions imposed on its media in the West. He said: “We criticize Western countries for their actions to suppress our media abroad and prevent the activities of our journalists.”
Putin’s spokesman added: “In a situation of intense confrontation, Russia must show an appropriate reaction to these actions of the West.” This reaction should be in response to the sanctions imposed on the Russian media.
Russia has been able to resist economic sanctions
Alexander Pankin, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, also mentioned in an interview that this country was able to overcome all economic sanctions and even strengthen its position in the world markets.
Pankin said: “Russia has passed this unprecedentedly difficult period and continues to move in the international arena with positive dynamics. Our foreign trade indicators have not only not decreased, but have increased, and this issue has been statistically confirmed. We don’t release some information because adversaries try to use it against us. But we have managed to change the orientation from the West to the South and the East, to the countries of the majority of the world. “We have maintained and even strengthened our positions in global markets.”
He added that the indicators of Russian exports, agricultural and industrial products, as well as chemical, metallurgical and machinery industries, positively indicate Russia’s successes.
Russia does not see the need to leave the International Monetary Fund
Alexander Pankin also noted that the Russian government does not see the need to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia emphasized: “The Russian government has not yet concluded that there is a need to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund after reviewing the opinions of all members of this process. This organization does not directly harm Russia, although it acts against its principles.
He added: “In the case of Ukraine, all the principles that existed in the foundation of this fund have been violated and everything is attributed to the emergency. Certainly, developing countries are unhappy with this situation and are deprived of their expected aid, because this aid is allocated to Ukraine. We try to gather as many like-minded people around us as possible. But the International Monetary Fund is a completely Western structure and it is difficult to work in it. If we get out, who’s going to do the things we’re doing now?”
Previously, the government of the Russian Federation did not support the bill of the Communist Party to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund.
Alexander Pankin also reminded: “We hope that when and if the normalization of relations with Europe takes place, Russia will not exclude this continent from the great Eurasian partnership. But at the moment, we do not see a serious opportunity to include Europe in the process of developing relations.”