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Gold bullion production in Kasimov, Russia 2021
Photo: Bloomberg/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Great Britain, the USA, Japan and Canada have agreed on a ban on the import of gold from Russia because of the Ukraine war, according to the British government.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to urge the other three G7 industrialized countries to join the move to "further isolate Russia from the international financial system," it said.
US President Joe Biden is already a step further – and announces on Twitter: “Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, an important export commodity that brings in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.” Summit of the seven leading Western industrialized countries in Elmau, Bavaria.
One thing is clear: Johnson and Biden want to increase the pressure on Russia because of the attack on Ukraine - and the topic should also be at the center of the meeting.
Only last Thursday, the United States announced further arms deliveries to Ukraine in the amount of 450 million dollars.
Since the start of the war four months ago, the US government has said it has pledged or already delivered weapons and equipment worth around $6.1 billion to Ukraine.
Russia exports gold worth tens of billions
"The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deprive him of the revenue he needs to fund his war against Ukraine," Biden said -- adding to gold would exacerbate those costs.
British Prime Minister Johnson said the move would “hit the Russian oligarchs directly” and “attack the heart of President Vladimir Putin's war machine”.
»We have to turn off the money supply to the Putin regime.«
Gold is Russia's most important non-energy export, the UK government said.
Exports were worth £12.6 billion to the Russian economy last year.
"Its value to the Russian elite has also increased in recent months as oligarchs buy bullion to avoid the financial impact of Western sanctions." Gold is in fact a sought-after crisis currency.
In view of London's central role in international gold trading and the parallel measures taken by the USA, Japan and Canada, the import ban "will have global effects and exclude the commodity from the official international markets," according to the British government.
There are also talks in the EU about sanctions against Russia in the gold trade.
So far, however, no decisions have been made on this.
The EU countries among the G7 countries are Germany, France and Italy.
However, a senior US government official said in a telephone switchboard with journalists on Sunday that the G7 countries would officially announce the import ban on Tuesday, the last day of the summit at Schloss Elmau.
Like other heads of state and government, US President Biden arrived at Schloss Elmau on Saturday.
It is his first visit to Germany since taking office in January 2021. Before the start of the G7 summit this Sunday, he wants to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz for bilateral talks.
"This meeting will provide a good opportunity to reaffirm the deep and enduring ties between our two countries," said a US administration official.
After the G7 meeting, Biden wants to travel on to the NATO summit in Madrid.
Apr/dpa/AFP
