Putin Looks to Asia as West threatens to isolate Russia

[cyphercide]

What will Russian oligarchs do? Pressure Putin to give back Crimea?

If so, these oligarchs would be lucky to get out of Russia without being skinned alive by the public.

Relinquish Crimea? Of course not, I certainly don't recall stating something to that effect. What I did say was much would depend on what future course of action Russia decides to take. While there are no guarantees when it comes to Putin's ambitions, reminding him of what's at stake should he decide to act impulsively seems like a good deterrent.

Russian markets took another knock Friday as sanctions imposed by the U.S. over the annexation of Crimea began to hit oligarchs and their businesses.
Moscow's MICEX index fell more than 2% -- taking its losses for the year to 14%. The ruble was steady, after dipping early in the day, but has still lost about 10% since the start of the year.

The U.S. added more senior Russian officials and a bank to its list of targets Thursday, including Yuri Kovalchuk, described by U.S. officials as President Vladimir Putin's personal financier.

And President Obama warned Moscow the U.S. would target key sectors of the economy if Russia escalates the crisis in Ukraine.

Russian leaders earlier this week laughed off Western sanctions, which remain largely focused on disrupting the travel plans and freezing the personal assets of about 40 officials, some from Ukraine.

But the targeting of powerful figures close to Putin, and a company -- Bank Rossiya -- shows that the U.S. at least is ready to take more serious measures.

Europe will add a dozen more names to its list of sanction targets Friday, a source told CNN, but won't include companies, reflecting divisions among the European Union's 28 members and fears about the impact of a trade war on the region's fragile economic recovery.

Europe has much more to lose than the U.S. in terms of trade, investment and financial exposure to Russia if economic sanctions are imposed.

Still, Russia would come off worst, and its faltering $2 trillion economy could stall this year, analysts say.

Standard & Poor's said Thursday it could downgrade Russia's sovereign credit rating, and Fitch did the same Friday, warning growth could fall way below 1% this year as a consequence of the crisis.

"Since US and EU banks and investors may well be reluctant to lend to Russia under the current circumstances, the economy may slow further and the private sector may require official support," it said.

Russia could end up paying more to borrow money, the country's finance minister was reported as saying Friday.

U.S. sanctions on Russia begin to bite - Mar. 21, 2014

P.S. Given that many of the individuals being targeted belong to Putin's inner circle, it's highly unlikely that they're going to be "skinned alive" for any reason.

Key aides from Putin's inner circle targeted in new round of EU sanctions - CNN.com

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

Britain will begin buying Russian gas directly this year, while the rest Europe is attempting to cut its reliance on supplies from Moscow amidst the crisis in Ukraine.
Under a deal signed in 2012 the UK’s biggest utility company Centrica will start importing Russian gas from October this year, Reuters reports.
The deal remains in the pipeline, despite EU calls to move away from energy reliance on Russia. On Friday European Union leaders discussed the possible ways to diversify, as they say Crimea’s annexation by Russia made them more determined to take action.
UK domestic gas production is falling by about 7 percent annually, and the country is looking for alternative sources to fill the gap.
Supplies of Russian gas, which already provide a third of Europe’s needs, reach Britain through the central and south eastern parts of the continent, rather than directly. Most of Britain’s imports comes piped from Norway and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from further afield.
Most Russian supplies have recently been from storage in Germany.
Russia’s energy major Gazprom sells between 11 billion and 12 billion cubic metres to the UK, which is about 15 percent of country’s total need.

 

[Tshering22]

not hard to get to be number 1 in the world but the hardest part to maintain your sole power in the world. Russia and China put their differences aside to gun down the US and Nato power.

No one is against USA in general, man. The thing is too much intervention is what causes others to get antagonized and form such alliances.

Technically individuals do not hate US contrary to what Kissinger-types say.

Britain will begin buying Russian gas directly this year, while the rest Europe is attempting to cut its reliance on supplies from Moscow amidst the crisis in Ukraine.
Under a deal signed in 2012 the UK’s biggest utility company Centrica will start importing Russian gas from October this year, Reuters reports.
The deal remains in the pipeline, despite EU calls to move away from energy reliance on Russia. On Friday European Union leaders discussed the possible ways to diversify, as they say Crimea’s annexation by Russia made them more determined to take action.
UK domestic gas production is falling by about 7 percent annually, and the country is looking for alternative sources to fill the gap.
Supplies of Russian gas, which already provide a third of Europe’s needs, reach Britain through the central and south eastern parts of the continent, rather than directly. Most of Britain’s imports comes piped from Norway and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from further afield.
Most Russian supplies have recently been from storage in Germany.
Russia’s energy major Gazprom sells between 11 billion and 12 billion cubic metres to the UK, which is about 15 percent of country’s total need.

We must also find a way to import gas from Russia. If only there was no land obstacle between us and central asia...