By Vestnik Kavkaza
Yesterday the Russian President called for providing for the interests of domestic producers in the context of the extension of sanctions by the EU and the USA. He signed an act on responsive measures – “On Launching Certain Special Economic Measures in Favor of the Security of the Russian Federation.” At the moment the Russian government is developing a list of goods which will be forbidden to import into Russia.
Speaking about the influence of sanctions on the banking sphere, Oleg Preksin, the vice-president of the Association of Russian Banks, the deputy chairman of the Committee on International Cooperation of the Russian Union of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen, said that “the financial market of Russia is seriously underdeveloped”, and it enables the country “to meet the breaking of certain ties with colleagues from the countries which launch sanctions easily; at the same time, it enables Russia to take the necessary steps to develop its own economy and relations with partners.”
According to Preksin, “the banks, against which sanctions were launched and which are forbidden to be issued loans for more than 90 days, feel stable from the financial point of view. Fees are not very big, and they provide themselves due to internal sources. Moreover, the CB of Russia has already promised to support them. Of course some projects will be shut down, but the affect is mutual. In the next two years the losses of Russia and of the EU will be equal – about $100 billion. And this year Europe will lose twice as much money as Russia.”
In the context of sanctions, Russian enterprises are intensively working with alternative monetary ventures on the Hong Kong market. “I was present at the BRICS summit. A very serious new packet of measures on development of the financial structure of the countries which are allies of BRICS was adopted there. A final decision on configuration of the new Bank of Development was made,” Preskin said.
He believes that Russia will build its financial system more intensively: “Speaking about the outflow of Western money from the Russian market, the money had a short-term character, mainly a speculative one. As for long-term investments and the balance of capital flows, we are a country which donates. At the moment Russian financial companies will pay more attention to the development of the domestic economy.”
To set a bright example, Preksin turned to the history of Russia: “If we remember previous situations with restrictions, for example the 1920s provided a serious impact for the development of the Russian economy, industrialization, and it enabled the USSR to survive in the Great Patriotic War. If we turn to another example of sanctions – the Sinews of Peace – it provided a breakthrough in the nuclear sphere in Russia and going to space. So we expect a new breakthrough.”
Emmanuel Quide, the president of the French-Russian Chamber of Commerce, doesn’t see a threat in the sanctions either: “I believe the EU government is not insane. The goal of the sanctions is to tell Russia: “Do something!” However, it is not aimed at starting an economic war, as Russia needs Europe and Europe needs Russia. There is a very serious political problem which should be solved diplomatically. And our companies shouldn’t be hostages. If this happens, we are launching sanctions not only against Russia, but also against all investors, including the French.” Emmanuel Quide called for settlement of the situation diplomatically: “Business is a factor of stability; so let’s follow a diplomatic way rather than sanctions.”
