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European foreign ministers agreed on Sunday that the agreement with the G7 powers would prevent Russian central bank transactions from being announced by EU diplomat Joseph Borel.
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The ministers ‘political agreement paves the way for the move by opening markets on Monday, he pointed out to the press, estimating that “more than half of the company’s reserves” are held in G7 countries’ banks. Will be paralyzed.
Members of the G7 and the EU on Saturday agreed to block the actions of the Russian central bank on their soil, which severely restricts its ability to convert foreign exchange reserves (foreign currencies, sovereign bonds denominated in Western currencies). .).
Its purpose is to prevent the use of Moscow to finance the conflict in Ukraine and to counter the impact of Western sanctions on the Russian economy.
The central bank’s reserves, assets in dollars, euros and yuan, but gold reserves, about $ 640 billion, according to financial institution Bloomberg.
In the wake of this political green light from European ministers, the proposal “must be duly approved by member states in response to the central bank’s resumption of access to its reserves when it reopens on Monday at 4 am. EU, United Kingdom and United States markets,” a European The source told AFP.
“We cannot block central bank reserves located in Moscow or China. Last year, Russia (…) prepared for the current situation by reducing its reserves in dollars. ” Borrell said.
On the other hand, the twenty-seven ministers have not yet reached an agreement to exempt Russian financial institutions from the international Swift interbank messaging organization. Inter-bank finance The European Commission on Saturday proposes to block Swift’s access to “a limited number of banks” in member states, but states are concerned about the impact of the move.
“This has been discussed, but there is currently no consensus needed. We will continue to work (…) at the international level (…) because such action requires the co-operation of many countries,” said Joseph Borel.
