Putin a rival who is not welcome back to G7, says Harper
Mar 31, 2014 13:32:36 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Mar 31, 2014 13:32:36 GMT -5
I agree with Jimmy DeYoung: Bad move; Putin doesn't need the G7 - they need him!
Putin a rival who is not welcome back to G7, says Harper as Russia looks to replace Visa with its own credit cards
Lee-Anne Goodman, Canadian Press
BERLIN — Prime Minister Stephen Harper and German Chancellor Angela Merkel say they are united in their view that Russia has grossly violated Ukrainian sovereignty by annexing the Crimean peninsula.
Following a meeting Thursday between the two G7 leaders, Harper also opined that chances are slim that Russian President Vladimir Putin could ever be welcomed back to the G8.
The G7 nations — the U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan — effectively booted Russia from the G8 earlier this week over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula following a pro-Western uprising.
“He has not desired to be a partner, he’s desired to be a rival, and that’s just the reality that we have to come to terms with,” Harper told a news conference following his meeting with Merkel.
“I don’t see any way of a return for Mr. Putin to the table unless Russia fundamentally changes its course.”
In advance of next week’s NATO meeting in Brussels on the crisis in eastern Europe, Harper said: “No one is seeking a military escalation.”
But at the same time, Russian aggression “has the attention” of NATO, particularly NATO partners in eastern Europe, Harper added.
Merkel, asked how much pain Germany was willing to endure as a result of the economic sanctions against Russia, said she was unconcerned.
“I am quite relaxed, let’s put it that way.”
Merkel, meantime, said if Russia doesn’t de-escalate the situation, it will face further sanctions from the international community. She added that she hopes Putin makes the “right decisions” given his actions are harming the European economy as well as Russia’s.
Harper and Merkel, the two most senior members of the G7, sat down for an hour at the Chancellery in Berlin overlooking the historic Reichstag building. They exchanged kisses on the cheek upon meeting in an outdoor courtyard, then chatted warmly as they entered the building.
To soften the impact of U.S., EU and Canadian sanctions, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would develop its own credit card system to reduce reliance on Western-based companies.
Putin voiced his support for plans described by senior officials to create a domestic-based system in response to restrictions placed on Russian banks last week by Visa and MasterCard, which are widely use by Russians.
Kaeser told Putin the German industrial giant plans long-term investment in Russia despite the outcry over its intervention in Crimea.
“We certainly must do this and we will do it,” Putin told senior Russian lawmakers during a meeting that mainly focused on efforts to integrate the Crimea region after he signed legislation to make it part of Russia last week.
Visa and MasterCard last week stopped providing services for payment transactions for clients at Bank Rossiya, under U.S. sanctions.
The two payment systems also suspended services for clients at several other banks whose shareholders are on the U.S. sanctions list. They resumed services after the U.S. government said this did not mean the banks were subject to sanctions.
“It is really too bad that certain companies have decided on … restrictions,” Putin said, without naming Visa or MasterCard. “I think this will simply cause them to lose certain segments of the market – a very profitable market.”
Russia has been largely integrated into the global economy since the 1991 collapse of the communist Soviet Union, but the biggest confrontation since the Cold War has led officials to look for ways to reduce reliance on the West.
Also Thursday, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, one of her country’s most polarizing political figures, announced that she will run for presidential elections set for May 25.
Tymoshenko, who was released from jail last month following the overthrow of her political rival, President Viktor Yanukovych, said she would stand to protect the unity of Ukraine.
Presidential elections are taking place against the backdrop of dismal economic conditions, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and rumblings of discontent in the country’s mainly Russian-speaking eastern provinces.
“I will be the candidate of Ukrainian unity,” Tymoshenko said.
With her blond braids and telegenic smile, she is variously admired as an icon of democracy and detested as a self-promoting manipulator with a shady past.
This will be her second attempt to secure the presidency. She narrowly lost to Yanukovych in 2010.
Stephen Harper says Putin is stuck in Cold War as Obama warns of threat to world order
Russia suspended from G8 over annexation of Crimea, Group of Seven nations says
NATO chief warns Russian troops poised to move into another former Soviet territory, Moldova
Russia slaps entry ban on 13 Canadian lawmakers, officials in retaliation for Ukraine sanctions
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund on Thursday pledged $18 billion in loans to prop up Ukraine’s sinking economy, as the nation’s prime minister forecast more pain ahead without reforms that will affect nearly everyone in the country.
In a lengthy and passionate address to parliament, Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned that Ukraine was “on the brink of the economic and financial bankruptcy” and laid out details for fixes needed to put the country back on track, including raising taxes, a freeze on minimum wage and radically higher energy prices.
The reforms will hit households hard, which is likely to severely dent the interim government’s tenuous hold on power.
“We have no choice but to tell Ukraine the truth,” Yatsenyuk said.
Ukraine is still battling to restore some semblance of normalcy since President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February after months of protests ignited by a decision to back away from closer relations to the EU.
The IMF said Thursday that recent economic policies have drastically slowed growth and brought foreign currency reserves to a “critically low level.”
In a statement issued after two weeks of talks with officials in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the IMF said loans could range between $14 billion and $18 billion. It said a more exact sum would only be determined, however, when authorities give a more precise assessment of their needs.
link
Putin a rival who is not welcome back to G7, says Harper as Russia looks to replace Visa with its own credit cards
Lee-Anne Goodman, Canadian Press
BERLIN — Prime Minister Stephen Harper and German Chancellor Angela Merkel say they are united in their view that Russia has grossly violated Ukrainian sovereignty by annexing the Crimean peninsula.
Following a meeting Thursday between the two G7 leaders, Harper also opined that chances are slim that Russian President Vladimir Putin could ever be welcomed back to the G8.
The G7 nations — the U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan — effectively booted Russia from the G8 earlier this week over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula following a pro-Western uprising.
“He has not desired to be a partner, he’s desired to be a rival, and that’s just the reality that we have to come to terms with,” Harper told a news conference following his meeting with Merkel.
“I don’t see any way of a return for Mr. Putin to the table unless Russia fundamentally changes its course.”
In advance of next week’s NATO meeting in Brussels on the crisis in eastern Europe, Harper said: “No one is seeking a military escalation.”
But at the same time, Russian aggression “has the attention” of NATO, particularly NATO partners in eastern Europe, Harper added.
Merkel, asked how much pain Germany was willing to endure as a result of the economic sanctions against Russia, said she was unconcerned.
“I am quite relaxed, let’s put it that way.”
Merkel, meantime, said if Russia doesn’t de-escalate the situation, it will face further sanctions from the international community. She added that she hopes Putin makes the “right decisions” given his actions are harming the European economy as well as Russia’s.
Harper and Merkel, the two most senior members of the G7, sat down for an hour at the Chancellery in Berlin overlooking the historic Reichstag building. They exchanged kisses on the cheek upon meeting in an outdoor courtyard, then chatted warmly as they entered the building.
To soften the impact of U.S., EU and Canadian sanctions, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would develop its own credit card system to reduce reliance on Western-based companies.
Putin voiced his support for plans described by senior officials to create a domestic-based system in response to restrictions placed on Russian banks last week by Visa and MasterCard, which are widely use by Russians.
Kaeser told Putin the German industrial giant plans long-term investment in Russia despite the outcry over its intervention in Crimea.
“We certainly must do this and we will do it,” Putin told senior Russian lawmakers during a meeting that mainly focused on efforts to integrate the Crimea region after he signed legislation to make it part of Russia last week.
Visa and MasterCard last week stopped providing services for payment transactions for clients at Bank Rossiya, under U.S. sanctions.
The two payment systems also suspended services for clients at several other banks whose shareholders are on the U.S. sanctions list. They resumed services after the U.S. government said this did not mean the banks were subject to sanctions.
“It is really too bad that certain companies have decided on … restrictions,” Putin said, without naming Visa or MasterCard. “I think this will simply cause them to lose certain segments of the market – a very profitable market.”
Russia has been largely integrated into the global economy since the 1991 collapse of the communist Soviet Union, but the biggest confrontation since the Cold War has led officials to look for ways to reduce reliance on the West.
Also Thursday, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, one of her country’s most polarizing political figures, announced that she will run for presidential elections set for May 25.
Tymoshenko, who was released from jail last month following the overthrow of her political rival, President Viktor Yanukovych, said she would stand to protect the unity of Ukraine.
Presidential elections are taking place against the backdrop of dismal economic conditions, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and rumblings of discontent in the country’s mainly Russian-speaking eastern provinces.
“I will be the candidate of Ukrainian unity,” Tymoshenko said.
With her blond braids and telegenic smile, she is variously admired as an icon of democracy and detested as a self-promoting manipulator with a shady past.
This will be her second attempt to secure the presidency. She narrowly lost to Yanukovych in 2010.
Stephen Harper says Putin is stuck in Cold War as Obama warns of threat to world order
Russia suspended from G8 over annexation of Crimea, Group of Seven nations says
NATO chief warns Russian troops poised to move into another former Soviet territory, Moldova
Russia slaps entry ban on 13 Canadian lawmakers, officials in retaliation for Ukraine sanctions
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund on Thursday pledged $18 billion in loans to prop up Ukraine’s sinking economy, as the nation’s prime minister forecast more pain ahead without reforms that will affect nearly everyone in the country.
In a lengthy and passionate address to parliament, Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned that Ukraine was “on the brink of the economic and financial bankruptcy” and laid out details for fixes needed to put the country back on track, including raising taxes, a freeze on minimum wage and radically higher energy prices.
The reforms will hit households hard, which is likely to severely dent the interim government’s tenuous hold on power.
“We have no choice but to tell Ukraine the truth,” Yatsenyuk said.
Ukraine is still battling to restore some semblance of normalcy since President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February after months of protests ignited by a decision to back away from closer relations to the EU.
The IMF said Thursday that recent economic policies have drastically slowed growth and brought foreign currency reserves to a “critically low level.”
In a statement issued after two weeks of talks with officials in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the IMF said loans could range between $14 billion and $18 billion. It said a more exact sum would only be determined, however, when authorities give a more precise assessment of their needs.
link
