The World Blog by humble servant.

Berlin said aircraft are “not part” of any defense support provided to Ukraine Germany reveals whether it will send warplanes to Ukraine German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ruled out sending warplanes to Kiev on Wednesday, marking a second blow in several hours to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request for support from Western nations and alliances. “We have provided all kinds of defense materials and … have sent weapons that we have told you about but it is also true that we have to consider very carefully what we do concretely, and definitely warplanes are not part of that,” Scholz said at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Scholz’s decision to reject providing aircraft to Ukraine comes hours after the United States rejected Poland’s offer to provide MiG-29 fighter jets to Kiev via a US airbase in Germany, claiming the proposal raises “serious concerns” for the NATO alliance. Warsaw had offered on Tuesday to provide Russian-made MiG-29 fighter j...

Germany stalls efforts to sanction Russia's largest bank – media Berlin is worried that the step will disrupt "energy-related transactions," a report says Germany has been resisting efforts to cut Sberbank, Russia's biggest bank in terms of assets, off from SWIFT, a global messaging system that facilitates world trade, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing multiple diplomatic sources and documents. The EU decided to remove seven Russian banks from the system last week as part of sanctions in response to Moscow's ongoing military offensive in Ukraine. Berlin "repeatedly" spoke out against adding Sberbank to the list in order to "shield energy-related transactions," Bloomberg said.  The Financial Times reported last month that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been initially resistant to remove Russian banks from SWIFT altogether, despite the pressure from fellow EU member states. Berlin later changed its stance as the advance of Russian troops...

The European Union’s (EU) High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell has asked citizens to turn down the heating in their homes, as one way for the bloc to cut its dependence on Russian gas amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “The challenges we face are going to require a very tough stance and we have to be willing to pay the price,” Borrell stated, suggesting, “European citizens lower the heating of their homes,” as part of their “individual effort to cut gas consumption.” The statement from the EU official comes after the bloc unveiled a new round of sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The new restrictions cut off a number of Belarusian banks from the SWIFT network, hit the Russian maritime sector, and impose restrictions on 160 Russian lawmakers and business people. EU slaps new sanctions on Russia and Belarus The EU currently imports 45% of its coal, 40% of its gas, and 27% of its oil from Russia, with Borrell stating the bloc is t...

Mutual trade between Russia and China in the first two months of 2022 increased by 38.5% year-on-year, according to statistics released on Monday by China’s customs administration. Trade turnover in January-February reached $26.43 billion. Russian exports to China jumped by 35.8% over the period to $13.8 billion, while Russia imported $12.6 billion worth of goods and services from China, an annual growth of 41.5%. Last year, Russian-Chinese trade peaked at a record high of over $148.8 billion, up 35.8% compared to 2020, when it dropped by 2.9% due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, China’s trade surplus reached $59.77 billion in the first two months of 2022, up 16.5% compared to the same period in 2021. “Despite the increasingly complex and unpredictable external factors, the situation in China’s foreign trade is still stable. This is primarily due to the flexibility of the Chinese economy. In general, in the long term, the positive trend remains unchanged,” Chinese customs official Li...

Ban on tech sales to Russia could spark global microchip war – expert Major chip producers that join sanctions likely to face crucial parts shortage themselves Ban on tech sales to Russia could spark global microchip war – expert The ban on technology exports to Russia, in response to the war in Ukraine, could backfire on global manufacturers of computer processors and semiconductors, as many crucial components for their production are made exclusively in Russia, an industry expert has warned. “The ban on finished products for Russia will result in a retaliatory ban on the supply of production components and will cause an acute shortage of microprocessors for the whole world. By comparison, the end-of-2021 supply disruption situation will appear relatively light,” Oleg Izumrudov, head of the Consortium of Russian Developers of Data Storage Systems (RosSHD), says. His statement comes after the world's largest manufacturers of computer processors and semiconductors announced that the...

Beijing has pledged to defend Chinese companies and individuals trading with Russia against America’s wishes China responds to US sanctions threat Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.                                                                                  China will protect its companies and people who have come under threat of US sanctions over trading with Russia, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, commenting on Washington’s warnings. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing “will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and individuals.” The Chinese official reiterated his government’s criticism of unilateral sanctions, saying they have no basis in intern...

A ‘comprehensive’ strategy is in the works, while the Fed asks to devise a ‘digital dollar’ Biden hints at coming regulation of crypto and CBDCs The White House will unveil a comprehensive set of regulations targeting cryptocurrency on Wednesday, President Joe Biden has revealed. The president called it “the first ever whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology.”  Crypto exchange blocks sanctioned Russian accounts Among other measures, the order includes a 180-day deadline for several reports on “the future of money” – presumably referring to digital currencies like the one his administration has asked the Fed to step up its research and development of. For now, around 100 other countries are also working on so-called central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). There is “significant momentum” behind the idea of a CBDC, which is essentially a cryptocurrency without the privacy implied by t...

US State Department names strategic defeat for Putin as the endgame in Ukraine conflict US waging economic war on Russia – Kremlin The US is waging an economic war against Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the press on Wednesday. "The US has certainly declared economic war on Russia, and they are waging this war. Yes, de facto they are," said Peskov. His comments referred to a statement made by the US State Department's Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, who said on Tuesday that “from the US perspective, the end game is the strategic defeat of President Putin in this adventure [war in Ukraine]”. Also on Tuesday, US President Jo Biden banned all imports of Russian oil and gas, admitting that the decision was "not without cost at home," but taken "in close consultation" with allies.rd low Western nations have imposed several rounds of unprecedented sanctions against Russia, effectively cutting the country off fr...

Mandatory international inspections could keep US labs in check, Russia suggested Moscow calls for strengthening bioweapons treaty An international treaty banning bioweapons needs to be strengthened with a compliance verification mechanism, contrary to the US position on the issue, Moscow said on Wednesday. The call comes in the wake of the reported discovery of evidence that there were lethal pathogens at Pentagon-backed labs in Ukraine. The Russian military reported this week that Ukrainian authorities had ordered the destruction of highly pathogenic samples that were stored at US-backed biological labs throughout the country. The purported documents indicate that both Ukraine and the US breached the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which both nations signed and ratified, the Russian foreign ministry alleged on Wednesday. The order to destroy the samples was an attempt to cover up the violations of the treaty, it said. “We stand for the resumption of the work on a legally bi...

Budapest has argued that Eastern Europe is too dependent on the energy supply from Moscow Hungary hits out against sanctions on Russian oil & gas Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said that Hungary opposes sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, as Western countries hit Moscow with sweeping restrictions over its attack on Ukraine. “The reality stems from infrastructure and available natural gas resources. Natural gas and oil from Russia are currently dominant in our region,” Szijjarto told reporters during his trip to Serbia on Wednesday. “That’s why we can’t accept measures imposing a disproportionate burden on Hungary, the Hungarian people,” Szijjarto said. Prime Minister Viktor Orban made a similar point on Tuesday, arguing that “everyone in Europe suffers” from the effect of sanctions against Moscow. “I made it clear that we condemn Russia’s attack, we condemn the war, but we’ll not allow the price of war to be paid by Hungarian families,” Orban said. Norway reveals w...

The list of products and states that fall under restrictions will be revealed in two days Russia to ban foreign trade of certain commodities & raw materials Russia is banning the exports of certain commodities and raw materials, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday evening. The new economic measures are aimed at ensuring Russia's security amid Ukraine-related sanctions. The measures include “a ban on exports outside of the Russian Federation's territory and (or) imports to the Russian Federation's territory of products and (or) raw materials according to lists determined by the Russian government.” The ban will be effective until December 31, 2022. The actual products that fall under the restrictions, as well as countries and entities subject to the new measures, have not yet been revealed, as the President gave the government two days to determine the specifics. The ban will not affect products exported or imported for personal use; the p...

Investors eye energy giant Gazprom and aluminum producer Rusal China to boost stakes in Russian companies – media China is considering acquiring or increasing investments in Russian energy and natural resource companies, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources. According to the publication, Chinese investors are specifically interested in Russian state energy giant and major gas exporter Gazprom and aluminum producer Rusal. The Russian authorities are reportedly in talks with state-owned Chinese companies such as China National Petroleum Corp., China Petrochemical Corp., Aluminum Corp. of China, and China Minmetals Corp. regarding investment opportunities in Russian assets, the sources said. Negotiations are currently in the early stages, but talks have already begun between Chinese and Russian energy companies, they added. Oil giant is leaving Russia Meanwhile, a number of Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia over the past two weeks amid its ongoing military operation...

The US wanted to persuade the Gulf states to increase oil production, a report says Saudi Arabia & UAE snub phone calls with Biden – media Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE declined US requests to speak to President Joe Biden in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing US officials. “There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen,” a US official told the paper. “It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].” According to the report, Riyadh “signaled” to Biden that the Saudis wanted more support in several sensitive issues, including their civilian nuclear program and intervention in the Yemeni civil war, and the Emiratis shared their concerns. Biden eventually spoke to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud over the phone on February 9, pledging to support the kingdom against the Yemeni Houthi rebels and Iran, as well as ensuring “the stability of global energy supplies,” accor...

Economic measures imposed on Moscow are set to cut UK living standards by £2,500 per household in 2022 Cost of Russia sanctions for UK citizens revealed A report released on Tuesday forecasts that UK living standards will be cut by £2,500 ($3,285) per household this year, as inflationary pressure and a slower economy hit after the West imposed a raft of economic sanctions against Russia. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) claims that living standards in Britain are set to take their biggest hit since records began 1955, as global commodity prices and inflation rise in response to the sanctions.  The CEBR has halved its growth forecast for the UK in 2022 from 4.2% to 1.9% and predicts a more dire situation in 2023, with its growth estimate being reduced from 2% to 0%, seeing the economy grind to a standstill. The situation will “likely” put UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak “under further pressure to put the economy on a semi wartime setting” when he delivers his spring s...

(CNN)The Pentagon on Tuesday evening dismissed Poland's proposal floated hours earlier to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to the United States for delivery to Ukraine. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the Pentagon did not believe Poland's proposal was "tenable," just hours after Polish officials released a statement saying the government was ready to deploy all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to US Air Force's Rammstein Air Base in Germany so they could then be provided to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. "It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it," Kirby said. "We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland's proposal is a tenable one." Kirby said that the decision about transferring Polish-owned planes to Ukraine was "ultimately one for the Polish government,...