Sunday, September 14, 2014 3:29:56 PM
Sweeping new US and EU sanctions target Russia's banks and oil companies
Putin remains defiant as Russian companies such as Sberbank and Gazprom are barred from western capital in dramatic sanctions over Ukraine
• Armoured Russian vehicle seen inside Ukraine
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/armoured-russian-vehicle-inside-ukraine
• Despair in Luhansk after weeks of fire, fighting and Grads
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/11/despair-luhansk-residents-count-dead
Dan Roberts in Washington
The Guardian, Friday 12 September 2014 12.41 EDT
Jump to comments (1429)
A monument to Ukrainian poet and writer Taras Shevchenko is silhouetted against an apartment building with
a sign advertising Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom, in Moscow. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Russia’s largest banks, oil producers and defence companies will be cut off from international finance and technology under sweeping new economic sanctions announced by the US and Europe that substantially escalate western political pressure over Ukraine.
In coordinated moves that may unnerve already jittery financial markets, the US Treasury and European Union announced on Friday that Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, would be barred from accessing their capital markets for any long-term funding, including all borrowing over 30 days.
Existing 90-day lending bans affecting six other large Russian banks will also be tightened to 30-days, something US officials claim will sharply increasing their borrowing costs and deny access to important dollar-denominated funding sources.
Even more draconian measures were imposed on the Russian energy industry, where the US and Europe are attempting to shut down important new exploration projects in Siberia and the Arctic by barring foreign oil companies from providing any equipment, technology or assistance to deepwater, offshore, or shale projects.
The bans will prevent previously active companies such as Exxon and Shell from dealing with five of the largest Russian oil producers and pipeline operators: Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, LukOil, Surgutneftegas, and Rosneft.
The surprisingly far-reaching measures came despite tentative signs of diplomatic progress over Ukraine following a fragile ceasefire agreement .. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/ukraine-european-union-president-poroshenko.
One senior administration official in Washington claimed the measures were in response to recent incursions by Russian troops and were “about restoring respect for international law and state sovereignty”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin President Vladimir Putin, who maintains that Russian active military
are in no way involved in the violence in Ukraine. Photograph: Mikhail Klimentyrv/Ria Novosti/EPA
Another US official told reporters in Washington that the bans would would only be reversed if Moscow agreed to 12 measures set out in the so-called Minsk agreement [see below], including withdrawing all its troops and equipment from Ukraine.
“The United States, in close cooperation with the European Union, will impose ever-increasing sanctions that further Russia’s isolation from the global financial system unless Russia abandons its current path and genuinely works toward a negotiated diplomatic resolution to the crisis,” said the Treasury department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, David Cohen in a separate statement.
The moves brought a dismissive response from Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, who has already retaliated to earlier sanctions by banning food imports from Europe and the US.
“The less time officials and business leaders spend overseas and the more time they spend dealing with current issues the better,” said Putin .. http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2014/09/12/n_6474085.shtml.
Pro-Russian rebels Krasnodon, eastern Ukraine Pro-Russian rebels ride on a tank in the town of Krasnodon, eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Sergei Grits/AP
The measures are the latest in a series of ratcheting sanctions since Russia was first blamed for intervening in Crimea in March, which began with individual travel bans and asset seizures targeted at allies of Putin and have gradually extended to include the country’s largest companies and key industries.
The latest US and EU sanctions this week also target Russian’s defence contractors, and include travel bans on 24 new individuals.
The arms maker Kalashnikov and five state-owned defence technology firms which make weapons such as the Buk missile system – Dolgoprudny, Mytishchinski Mashinostroitelny Zavod, Kalinin Machine Plant, Almaz-Antey, and JSC NIIP - will have any assets abroad frozen. And similar bans on receiving debt financing over 30-days were placed on Rostec, a defence conglomerate.
“Russia’s economic and diplomatic isolation will continue to grow as long as its actions do not live up to its words,” said US Treasury secretary Jack Lew.
“Russia’s economy is already paying a heavy price for its unlawful behavior. Growth has fallen to near zero, inflation is well above target, and Russian financial markets continue to deteriorate. [If] Russia chooses to continue its violations of international law, the costs will continue to rise.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/russia-sanctions-us-eu-banks-sberbank-oil-gazprom
~~~
Minsk Agreement (2014)
Representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) signed an agreement to halt the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine on 5 September 2014. It was signed after extensive talks in Minsk, Belarus, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The agreement, which followed multiple previous attempts to stop fighting in the Donbass, implemented an immediate ceasefire.
[...]
Protocol
The protocol of the Minsk Agreement consists of twelve points:[4]
1. Ensure an immediate bilateral ceasefire.
2. Ensure the monitoring and verification by the OSCE of the ceasefire.
3. A decentralisation of power, including through the adoption of the law of Ukraine "about local government provisional arrangements in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts" (law on the special status).
4. Ensure the permanent monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian border and verification by the OSCE with the creation of security zones in the border regions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
5. To immediately release all hostages and illegally detained persons.
6. A law on preventing the prosecution and punishment of persons in connection with the events that have taken place in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
7. Continue the inclusive national dialogue.
8. To take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Donbass.
9. Ensure early local elections in accordance with the law of Ukraine "about local government provisional arrangements in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts" (law on the special status).
10. Withdraw the illegal armed groups, military equipment, as well as fighters and mercenaries from Ukraine.
11. To adopt the program of economic recovery and reconstruction of Donbass region.
12. To provide personal security for the participants in the consultations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_Agreement_%282014%29
Oh for the days when agreements were based on a handshake. And honored. Lol, yeah, i guess as many were broken back then, and in other areas things were not nearly
as safe as they are today. See a tinge of sarcasm in that first bit, as i don't wanna drift into any sort of 'revere Cheney'-like forlornly misguided appreciation for the past.
See also:
Everyone heard what Mr. Cheney told republicans today?
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106108631
Cheney in Wonderland
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106245462
Putin remains defiant as Russian companies such as Sberbank and Gazprom are barred from western capital in dramatic sanctions over Ukraine
• Armoured Russian vehicle seen inside Ukraine
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/armoured-russian-vehicle-inside-ukraine
• Despair in Luhansk after weeks of fire, fighting and Grads
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/11/despair-luhansk-residents-count-dead
Dan Roberts in Washington
The Guardian, Friday 12 September 2014 12.41 EDT
Jump to comments (1429)
A monument to Ukrainian poet and writer Taras Shevchenko is silhouetted against an apartment building with
a sign advertising Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom, in Moscow. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Russia’s largest banks, oil producers and defence companies will be cut off from international finance and technology under sweeping new economic sanctions announced by the US and Europe that substantially escalate western political pressure over Ukraine.
In coordinated moves that may unnerve already jittery financial markets, the US Treasury and European Union announced on Friday that Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, would be barred from accessing their capital markets for any long-term funding, including all borrowing over 30 days.
Existing 90-day lending bans affecting six other large Russian banks will also be tightened to 30-days, something US officials claim will sharply increasing their borrowing costs and deny access to important dollar-denominated funding sources.
Even more draconian measures were imposed on the Russian energy industry, where the US and Europe are attempting to shut down important new exploration projects in Siberia and the Arctic by barring foreign oil companies from providing any equipment, technology or assistance to deepwater, offshore, or shale projects.
The bans will prevent previously active companies such as Exxon and Shell from dealing with five of the largest Russian oil producers and pipeline operators: Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, LukOil, Surgutneftegas, and Rosneft.
The surprisingly far-reaching measures came despite tentative signs of diplomatic progress over Ukraine following a fragile ceasefire agreement .. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/ukraine-european-union-president-poroshenko.
One senior administration official in Washington claimed the measures were in response to recent incursions by Russian troops and were “about restoring respect for international law and state sovereignty”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin President Vladimir Putin, who maintains that Russian active military
are in no way involved in the violence in Ukraine. Photograph: Mikhail Klimentyrv/Ria Novosti/EPA
Another US official told reporters in Washington that the bans would would only be reversed if Moscow agreed to 12 measures set out in the so-called Minsk agreement [see below], including withdrawing all its troops and equipment from Ukraine.
“The United States, in close cooperation with the European Union, will impose ever-increasing sanctions that further Russia’s isolation from the global financial system unless Russia abandons its current path and genuinely works toward a negotiated diplomatic resolution to the crisis,” said the Treasury department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, David Cohen in a separate statement.
The moves brought a dismissive response from Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, who has already retaliated to earlier sanctions by banning food imports from Europe and the US.
“The less time officials and business leaders spend overseas and the more time they spend dealing with current issues the better,” said Putin .. http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2014/09/12/n_6474085.shtml.
Pro-Russian rebels Krasnodon, eastern Ukraine Pro-Russian rebels ride on a tank in the town of Krasnodon, eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Sergei Grits/AP
The measures are the latest in a series of ratcheting sanctions since Russia was first blamed for intervening in Crimea in March, which began with individual travel bans and asset seizures targeted at allies of Putin and have gradually extended to include the country’s largest companies and key industries.
The latest US and EU sanctions this week also target Russian’s defence contractors, and include travel bans on 24 new individuals.
The arms maker Kalashnikov and five state-owned defence technology firms which make weapons such as the Buk missile system – Dolgoprudny, Mytishchinski Mashinostroitelny Zavod, Kalinin Machine Plant, Almaz-Antey, and JSC NIIP - will have any assets abroad frozen. And similar bans on receiving debt financing over 30-days were placed on Rostec, a defence conglomerate.
“Russia’s economic and diplomatic isolation will continue to grow as long as its actions do not live up to its words,” said US Treasury secretary Jack Lew.
“Russia’s economy is already paying a heavy price for its unlawful behavior. Growth has fallen to near zero, inflation is well above target, and Russian financial markets continue to deteriorate. [If] Russia chooses to continue its violations of international law, the costs will continue to rise.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/russia-sanctions-us-eu-banks-sberbank-oil-gazprom
~~~
Minsk Agreement (2014)
Representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) signed an agreement to halt the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine on 5 September 2014. It was signed after extensive talks in Minsk, Belarus, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The agreement, which followed multiple previous attempts to stop fighting in the Donbass, implemented an immediate ceasefire.
[...]
Protocol
The protocol of the Minsk Agreement consists of twelve points:[4]
1. Ensure an immediate bilateral ceasefire.
2. Ensure the monitoring and verification by the OSCE of the ceasefire.
3. A decentralisation of power, including through the adoption of the law of Ukraine "about local government provisional arrangements in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts" (law on the special status).
4. Ensure the permanent monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian border and verification by the OSCE with the creation of security zones in the border regions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
5. To immediately release all hostages and illegally detained persons.
6. A law on preventing the prosecution and punishment of persons in connection with the events that have taken place in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
7. Continue the inclusive national dialogue.
8. To take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Donbass.
9. Ensure early local elections in accordance with the law of Ukraine "about local government provisional arrangements in some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts" (law on the special status).
10. Withdraw the illegal armed groups, military equipment, as well as fighters and mercenaries from Ukraine.
11. To adopt the program of economic recovery and reconstruction of Donbass region.
12. To provide personal security for the participants in the consultations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_Agreement_%282014%29
Oh for the days when agreements were based on a handshake. And honored. Lol, yeah, i guess as many were broken back then, and in other areas things were not nearly
as safe as they are today. See a tinge of sarcasm in that first bit, as i don't wanna drift into any sort of 'revere Cheney'-like forlornly misguided appreciation for the past.
See also:
Everyone heard what Mr. Cheney told republicans today?
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106108631
Cheney in Wonderland
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106245462
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
