The President of Venezuela criticized the Western sanctions imposed on Russia as “crazy”, while Mexico, Brazil, and China also refused to participate in economic sanctions against Moscow.
Venezuela
“What they are doing against the Russian people is a crime, an economic war,” the President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro said on television on March 2, 2022.
Commented about “all Russian banks have been excluded from the SWIFT global financial system and many countries ban Russian planes from their airspace”, Maduro called these acts are “madness” and must be stopped.
“Economic wars must end. The world’s problems must be solved through diplomacy and politics. World peace must be preserved,” Mr. Maduro emphasized.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks by video call at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland on February 28.
Russia is currently a key ally of Venezuela (the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela).
In a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 1, Mr. Maduro expressed “strong support” for Moscow’s actions, according to a Kremlin statement
Mexico
Mexico (the United Mexican States) also announced on March 1 that this country would not impose any economic sanctions on Russia. “We will not take any act of economic sanctions because we want to have good relations with all the governments of the world,” said Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
Brazil
The President of Brazil (the Federative Republic of Brazil) Jair Bolsonaro on February 28 refused to impose sanctions on Russia and vowed to maintain a neutral position on the Ukraine conflict. He pointed out that Brazil is dependent on Russian fertilizers and that sanctions will have a serious impact on the agricultural industry, and affirmed that Brazil supports peace but does not want to “cause any more problems” for Brazil.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (L) and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro (R)
China
China (the People’s Republic of China) insists Beijing will not join European governments in imposing financial sanctions on Russia.
“We will not join sanctions, and we will maintain economic trading and financial exchanges with all parties involved, normally. We do not accept financial sanctions on any government,” said Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, adding that the sanctions “will not have a good effect.”
Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission
Ukraine conflict
Russia launched a special military operation on February 24 with the aim of “de-militarizing and de-fascistizing Ukraine”. After 7 days of operation, Russian forces have controlled Berdyansk, a coastal city in southeastern Ukraine, as well as the city of Kherson in the south.
The Russian military is strengthening the circle of other major Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
The US and European Union (EU) countries as well as their allies such as the UK, Canada, Japan, and some other countries have imposed a series of sanctions against Russia, such as removing Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial system, crippled the assets of the Central Bank of Russia and closed the airspace to Russian planes.
Sanctions have left Russia facing a financial crisis as the value of the ruble plunges to a record low against the dollar. The Kremlin says Western sanctions will never change Russia’s position on Ukraine.
Predictions of experts
However, Russia is not the only party suffering from the sanctions. Experts predict they could affect a number of countries around the world, especially those that are dependent heavily on wheat or gas from Ukraine and Russia. Russia is one of the world’s largest oil and gas exporters, and Ukraine is a major transit country for Russian gas.
From now, the sanctions have not targeted the energy sector directly, but experts fear Moscow could retaliate by restricting oil and gas exports to Europe.
EU is killing themself as they impose economic sanctions on Russia
The crisis has also raised the risk of shortages in cereals such as wheat, corn, or oilseeds. Russia and Ukraine together account for about 30 percent of global wheat exports, nearly a fifth of commercial corn, and about 80 percent of sunflower oil exports.
Experts predict that Russia’s military activity will increase food prices in countries such as Libya, Yemen, or Lebanon, deepening the food crisis in these countries.
Hungry children in Yemen
