The US crackdown on banks that finance the trade of goods used by Russia for the conflict in Ukraine is reportedly hindering the flow of Russian money abroad. This is what the Financial Timesnoting how the volume of Moscow’s trade with key partners such as Türkiye and the Chinese collapsed in the first quarter of this year after the United States targeted international banks that help Russia purchase essential products for its war campaign.
Putin’s gamble, nuclear exercises on the border with Ukraine: “Response to the provocations of the West” by our correspondent Rosalba Castelletti 06 May 2024
“It has become more difficult for Russia to access the financial services it needs to obtain these goods,” he said Anna Morris, deputy assistant secretary for global affairs at the US Treasury, quoted by the London newspaper. “The goal is definitely to make the flow of money much more difficult, to increase costs for the Russians and friction in the system. The disruption is a major achievement,” she added.
The result, the British newspaper continues, is that to circumvent these blocks a growing network of intermediaries is required with a consequent increase in costs. “Every month it’s more and more difficult. One month it’s dollars, the next month it’s euros; within six months nothing can be done. The logical end point of this situation is the transformation of Russia into Iran,” he declared a high-level Russian investor told the FT, referring to the severe financial sanctions against Tehran.
The American government’s measure was designed to target banks in countries that have recorded a sharp increase in trade with Russia. The Financial Times cites the case of Turkish exports to Russia and five former Soviet countries of “high priority” goods, in this case items of predominantly civilian use but also identified as fundamental for the war effort such as microchips, which increased significantly after the invasion of Ukraine. Second Trade Data Monitor, the volume reached $586 million in 2023, a fivefold increase in volume compared to the pre-war period.
Sabotage and fake news. The CIA alarm: “The European elections in Putin’s sights” by Giuliano Foschini, and by our correspondent Claudio Tito (Brussels) 06 May 2024
But in the first quarter of this year, Turkey’s exports to Russia fell by a third from a year earlier, reaching $2.1 billion. The value of exports of high-priority goods to Russia and neighboring countries fell 40% to $93 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, showing the impact of the executive order. A decline which, according to the FT, is attributable precisely to the banks’ fear of suffering repercussions from the United States.