Russia’s invasion has caused “shock waves” around the world, says EU commissioner
Global cereal prices have risen since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, with two countries contributing a significant percentage of the world’s supply of some of these commodities, such as wheat.
Vincent Mundy | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“We are clearly seeing the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is sending shockwaves around the world and the forecast for global economic growth has been revised downwards considerably and the same is happening in the EU,” said Valdis Dombrovskis. , vice president and European trade commissioner for the European Commission, told CNBC on Wednesday.
Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which focused on the plight of Ukraine as the invasion of Russia continues, as well as the global consequences of the war, Dombrovskis said the EU should act urgently to break its energy ties with Russia. .
The invasion has led the EU to fight to reduce its dependence on Russian gas supplies, although an EU-wide embargo on oil and gas from Russia has not yet been agreed.
“We urgently need to move away from our dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” Dombrovskis said.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
Russia says it is ready to install corridors for ships leaving Ukraine with food
The cargo ship with Ukrainian corn leaves for Germany from Chornomorsk, Odessa region, southern Ukraine.
Yulii Zozulia | Future Publishing | Getty Images
A Russian official has reported that Moscow is willing to offer a humanitarian corridor for food-carrying ships to leave Ukraine in exchange for lifting some sanctions.
“We are always ready for dialogue with all those who are fighting for peace, for a peaceful solution to all problems,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Wednesday, according to Russian state news agency Interfax.
“We have spoken repeatedly on this issue that the solution to the food problem requires a comprehensive approach,” he said, “including the removal of the restrictive restrictions on Russian exports and financial transactions.”
Russia is ready to provide the necessary humanitarian step, Rudenko said.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of “supplying” food supplies to Ukraine by blocking exports of the country’s commodities, such as wheat and cooking oil. World food prices have risen as a result of declining exports. Russia denies it is using food to pressure Ukraine’s allies to ease sanctions.
Andrius Tursa, Teneo Intelligence’s Central and Eastern European adviser, said in a statement on Wednesday that “there are no easy ways to unblock food exports through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports,” and that the routes Land and river export alternatives require time and investment to eliminate. bottlenecks in infrastructure and bureaucracy.
“The war will significantly reduce the production and exports of Ukrainian food in the foreseeable future,” Tursa said.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
Malawi is feeling the impact of the war in Ukraine, the president says
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera said the rise in food, fuel and fertilizer prices, largely caused by the Ukraine war, is having an impact on the African economy.
“We still have to work together to find solutions” to end the war, he said.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
The change in Russian gas will be “really painful” for Germany, says the CEO
The move away from Russian gas will be, at least in the short term, “really painful for industry” in Germany, Covestro CEO Markus Steilemann told CNBC at the World Economic Forum.
“There is very little opportunity to compensate [for that shift]it would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, that’s my personal belief, and it would really affect the context of German industry. “
He said that German industry needs to be supported with the energy transition away from Russian gas, adding that “what we need to do, with all our might, is the transition to renewable energy” and develop this sector in Germany.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
Russia has been exposed to historic debt defaults as US bans dollar payments
Russian President Vladimir Putin presides over a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link in Moscow, Russia, on May 13, 2022. Sputnik / Mikhail Metzel / Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS IT WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Mikhail Metzel | Sputnik | Via Reuters
The United States has put an end to a crucial exemption that allowed Moscow to pay off foreign debt to foreign investors in U.S. dollars through U.S. and international banks, which could force Russia into default.
The Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control Office had allowed payments in dollars on a case-by-case basis, allowing Russia to pay off its foreign debt so far, although it had exhausted its accumulated war coffers. of foreign currency. OFAC announced in a bulletin Tuesday that the exemption would expire from 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Russia has a deluge of debt service deadlines this year, mostly $ 400 million in interest payments at the end of June.
Adam Solowsky, a partner in the financial firm of global law firm Reed Smith, told CNBC on Friday that Moscow will likely argue that it is not in arrears as payment was made impossible, despite having funds available.
Solowsky said the situation was entering “unknown territory” and that Russia and the United States were potentially looking at a period of “prolonged litigation.”
Read more about this story here.
British retailer Marks & Spencer leaves Russia
A customer enters a Marks & Spencer Group Plc store in the Afimall shopping and entertainment center of the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, August 8, 2015.
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British retailer Marks & Spencer has announced that it will withdraw from Russia, becoming the last of a long line of companies to do so.
The food and clothing retailer left shipments to Russia in March and said Wednesday it would leave its franchise there, taking on a £ 31m ($ 39m) charge.
In its latest earnings update, M&S said it was starting in the current 2022-23 year from a lower profit base.
“The business is now much better positioned and had an encouraging start to the year. However, given growing cost pressures and consumer uncertainty, we currently do not expect progress from this lower profit base in 2022- 23 “, he said.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
The official says the extent to which the EU will participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine is uncertain
The EU must support Ukraine in its reconstruction, a senior official told CNBC, but said the extent to which the bloc pays the bill for the eventual reconstruction of Ukraine is a big unknown.
“It should be a European commitment, because Ukraine is in Europe and they want to join the European Union and we consider them in our family so that Europe cannot say ‘oh, reconstruction is a matter for other global actors’,” said Paolo Gentiloni. the European Commission’s Commissioner for Economics told CNBC on Wednesday.
“How do we approach this issue? This is an open question, but it is not a question at the moment. At the moment, the question is to support Ukraine because the success of this resistance is decisive for our future,” he said.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been dominating the agenda of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with political and business leaders warning that the war is already having far-reaching consequences for global food supply and geopolitical stability.
“Holly Ellyatt.”
Civilization may not survive Putin’s war in Ukraine, says George Soros
Liberal billionaire George Soros has said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could be considered the starting point of World War III.
At his annual dinner in the middle of the World Economic Forum on Tuesday evening, Soros said the course of history had changed drastically since the last event was held in Davos, Switzerland.
“Russia invaded Ukraine. This has shaken Europe to its core,” he told the audience.
“The European Union was created to prevent this from happening. Even when the fighting stops, as it eventually should, the situation will never return to the previous status quo. In fact, the Russian invasion could become the beginning of the world. The Third War, and our civilization may not survive. “
Read the full story here: Soros says civilization may not survive Putin’s war in Ukraine, warns of global depression
– Matt Clinch
Zelenskyy says Russia is putting everything it has into the Donbas struggle
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaks at a joint press conference as Russia continues its attack on Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 28, 2022.
Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Russia is using everything in its power to fight for four cities in the eastern Donbas region.
“The situation in the Donbas is very difficult now,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly speech to the nation. “Virtually all the power of the Russian army, whatever it is left to them, is being launched on the offensive there. Liman, Popasna, Sievierodonetsk, Slaviansk: the occupiers want to destroy everything.”
Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian army is fighting, but “it will take time and much more effort on the part of our people to overcome their advantage in the amount of equipment and weapons.”
He told Ukrainians that they should be proud to have kept Russia for three months in a war that many in Russia and the West hoped would last three days.
– Associated press
The NATO chief warns Russia that an attack on an ally “will activate the full response of the whole alliance.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference ahead of the Alliance’s defense ministers’ meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 15, 2022.
Kenzo Tribouillard | AFP | Getty Images
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that while the 30-member military alliance has not deployed troops in Ukraine, a “Russian attack” on a NATO ally will trigger the full response …