China Foreign Minister Says Willing To Help Russia If Needed

[Purveyor]

(Reuters) - China is willing to help Russia if needed but believes that the country has the ability to overcome its current economic problems, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was quoted as saying in a state newspaper on Monday.

The ruble has dropped about 45 percent against the dollar this year, suffering particularly steep falls early last week. President Vladimir Putin has declined to call it a crisis and said the currency would eventually rise again.

Wang, speaking to reporters over the weekend, said that Russia also had the "wisdom" to get out of difficulties, the official China Daily reported.

"If the Russian side needs, we will provide necessary assistance within our capacity," he said, noting that the two countries had consistently helped each other.

He did not elaborate.

China's trade minister, also speaking at the weekend, proposed more use of China's currency in settling trade with Russia in the face of the weaker ruble to ensure safe and reliable trade.

more...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/us-china-russia-idUSKBN0K004Q20141222

[geek tragedy]

1. There is no such thing as a free lunch. nt

[bemildred]

2. China offers Russia help to shore up the ruble

Two Chinese ministers offered support for Russia as President Vladimir Putin seeks to shore up the ruble without depleting foreign-exchange reserves.

China will provide help if needed and is confident Russia can overcome its economic difficulties, Foreign Minister Wang Yi was cited as saying in Bangkok in a Dec. 20 report by Hong Kong– based Phoenix TV. Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said expanding a currency swap between the two nations and making increased use of yuan for bilateral trade would have the greatest impact in aiding Russia, according to the broadcaster.

While the offer won’t relieve the main sources of pressure on the ruble – capital outflow tied to plunging oil prices and sanctions linked to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine – the currency gained 3.1 per cent against the dollar by 12:37 p.m. in Moscow. The Micex Index rose was little changed, and the yield on Russia’s 10-year bond fell 30 basis points to 13.3 per cent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“In the current conditions, any help is very welcome,” Vladimir Miklashevsky, a strategist at Danske Bank A/S, said by e-mail. “Yet, it can’t substitute the losses of the Russian banking system and economy from western sanctions.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/china-offers-russia-help-to-shore-up-the-ruble/article22175252/?cmpid=rss1

[bemildred]

3. Nazarbayev: Ukraine conflict is 'nonsense'

MOSCOW (AP) -- Kazakhstan's president says the conflict in eastern Ukraine is "nonsense" and is calling on Russia and Ukraine to find a way to resolve it.

Nursultan Nazarbayev's comments Monday, after a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, could carry weight because Kazakhstan is part of a Russia-dominated trade bloc that Moscow sees as a counterweight to the European Union.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_UKRAINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-12-22-08-42-22

[bemildred]

4. Putin to have phone talks with EU, Ukraine leaders on Monday: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold phone talks later on Monday with the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine on a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin's foreign policy adviser said.

"Tonight, another telephone conversation with the presidents of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine will take place, in the so-called 'Normandy-style' format," Yuri Ushakov told journalists, referring to talks in France in June that involved Putin, Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande and Petro Poroshenko.

"It will focus on the current crisis situation and prospects for the next meeting of the contact group."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sns-rt-us-ukraine-crisis-putin-talks-20141222-story.html

[bemildred]

5. Top Turkish official visits Russia to talk Syria, Iraq and Ukraine

Senior Turkish diplomat Feridun Sinirlioğlu is visiting Moscow for talks with Russian officials on a number of issues, including Syria, Iraq and Ukraine.

During his visit on Dec. 21-22, Sinirlioğlu, the Foreign Ministry undersecretary is meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin, the Foreign Ministry said in a written statement on Dec. 22.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Ankara on Dec. 1, during which time he announced that Moscow was scrapping the South Stream gas pipeline that was set to pass through Bulgaria, offering instead a pipeline through Turkey.

Soon afterwards, the European Union voiced concern and expectations that Turkey would join sanctions against Russia due to Moscow’s interference in Ukraine.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/top-turkish-official-visits-russia-to-talk-syria-iraq-and-ukraine.aspx?pageID=238&nID=75921&NewsCatID=510

[bemildred]

6. Germany: Sanctions on Russia bite back

While most U.S. and most E.U. nations press for additional sanctions on Russia for its role in the Ukraine conflict, a distinctly conciliatory tone is being heard from Germany, where the sanctions are having a significant effect on the economy.

“The shine is off the German economy,” warns Carsten Brezski, a senior economist at the banking group ING in Brussels. “And the sanctions against Russia have much to do with it.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was a fierce supporter of the sanctions, has backed off slightly in recent remarks. “The EU wishes to work with Russia, not to act against it,” she said on Dec. 18.

German Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier chimed in: “An economically isolated Russia, one that may face collapse, would not help improve security in Europe or in Ukraine, but would pose a danger to itself and others. One of the problems is that many people aren’t having a dialogue. That’s not true of the Germans.”

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/439199--germany-sanctions-on-russia-bite-back

[jakeXT]

10. As they should

The United States considers the most dangerous potential alliance to be between Russia and Germany. This would be an alliance of German technology and capital with Russian natural and human resources.”
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/12/head-stratfor-private-cia-says-overthrow-yanukovych-blatant-coup-history.html

[bemildred]

7. Belarus tries to cash in on its new role as bridge between Russia and West

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — As relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated, there's one country that's reaping rewards — Belarus, whose authoritarian leader was once dubbed "Europe's last dictator" by the United States and the European Union.

President Alexander Lukashenko is relishing his new role as broker of the Ukraine peace talks, and his country of 10 million people is profiting handsomely by reprocessing or simply repackaging European food banned by Moscow in retaliation to Western sanctions. In the most stunning example, exports of sea fish from the landlocked nation have doubled during the last three months — a sure sign that something curious is afoot.

Food exports to Russia have been a major hard currency-earner for cash-strapped Belarus, worth $5.7 billion in 2013. This year's figures aren't available yet, but a sharp rise in imports of food from Europe signaled that the country, which is sandwiched between Russia and EU members Poland and Lithuania, quickly took advantage of Moscow's ban.

"Lukashenko hopes to turn Belarus into a bridge between the East and the West, for which both sides will have to pay," said Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent Minsk-based analyst. "Lukashenko loves a proverb: A friendly calf sucks two mothers."

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2014/12/22/belarus-enjoys-bonanza-amid-russia-west-tensions

[bemildred]

8. U.S. sanctions are a tragedy for Cuba, farce for Russians

BERLIN – Imagine for a moment that it’s the year 2064 and the U.S. president, flanked by flags, with the Oval Office fireplace behind his back, has arranged to address the nation. He begins intoning solemnly into a camera (or whatever has replaced the camera in that distant future):

Today, the United States is changing its relationship with the people of Russia. In the most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years, we will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests. Instead, we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries.

Proudly the U.S. has supported democracy and human rights in Russia through these five decades. We’ve done so primarily through policies that aimed to isolate the country.

And though this policy has been rooted in the best of intentions, it has had little effect, beyond providing the Russian government with a rationale for restrictions on its people.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/12/22/commentary/world-commentary/u-s-sanctions-are-a-tragedy-for-cuba-farce-for-russians/

[bemildred]

9. . nt

[KoKo]

11. Thanks for Your Links & Additional Ones downthread... all in one place....

Makes it easier for Bookmarking to read later.

[bemildred]

12. +1. nt

[bemildred]

13. Russia, China – neither allies nor rivals

There have been some wild theses lately, including among the Indian pundits and think tankers, that consequent upon Russia’ s tensions with the West, Moscow has ‘pivoted’ to China in strategic terms and a Sino-Russian axis is steadily taking shape in world politics and that these two ‘Eastern” powers are all set to challenge the United States.

Some speculators even went to the extent of fancying that the fate of the American dollar is sealed and it is a matter of months before the Bretton Woods system comes crashing down.

This was of course fantasyland and anyone who has followed the trajectory of Russian-Chinese relations through the past decades would know that there are far too many complexities (and contradictions) involved in this relationship and it can never be the case that they would simply decide one day to embrace each other and become allies.

Paradoxically, the US strategy toward Russia and China is itself predicated on the virtual certainty that the latter two can never form an axis in the international system.

http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2014/12/22/russia-china-neither-allies-nor-rivals/

[KoKo]

15. +1

Interesting the back and forth
re the "Global Times" Editorial comments and what Putin actually said in his speech regarding China alliance. The revisions from China in Editorials..

[bemildred]

16. Yes, both those today are very good stuff.

Not entirely in agreement, but useful points of view.

[bemildred]

14. How long can Russia withstand the crisis?

Unlike the image many people hold of Russia, it is neither a powerhouse that embraced the NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden and annexed Crimea, nor a feeble country as evidenced by the plummeting ruble. The truth of Russia's situation is unclear to many people, both in the West and China.

The Russian economy is overly dependent on crude oil exports, and this ongoing crisis proves that it is not easy for Russia to be an extra-large Saudi Arabia. Some people suggest that Russia should learn from Canada and Australia, which have managed to transform huge reserves of natural resources into fortunes. However, due to Russia's large population of 140 million people, its modernity and strong currency cannot be solely supported by oil, gas and timber.

Western sanctions cannot be the straw that breaks the back of Russia. This old trick has proven much less effective even in smaller countries like Cuba and Iran. That is why Russia's annexation of Crimea only left the US and Europe impotent earlier this year. The ongoing crisis engulfing Russia in the wake of plummeting oil prices and the ruble depreciating is probably not what the US had planned. For Washington, what is happening in Russia is more or less unexpected.

Vladimir Putin's reign can hardly be overturned simply by currency inflation. Russia has experienced many ups and downs, and it has the tenacity to withstand risks and dangers.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/897993.shtml

[bemildred]

17. Ukraine's Naftogaz says has transferred $1.65 bln tranche of Gazprom debt

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz said on Tuesday it had transferred $1.65 billion to Russia's Gazprom - the second tranche of a debt repayment agreed under a deal that saw Moscow resume gas supplies to Ukraine earlier this month.

In November, Moscow, Kiev and the European Union reached a deal under which Russia would restart flows to Ukraine over the winter in return for Ukraine paying $3.1 billion in two tranches by the end of the 2014.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/23/ukraine-crisis-gas-idUSL6N0U736O20141223?rpc=401