Ukraine Crisis Archives - Political Economy Journal

U.S. stops Russian bond payments in bid to raise pressure on Moscow

05

Apr

bond, NATO, Russia, SANCTIONS, the United States, Ukraine crisis

U.S. stops Russian bond payments in bid to raise pressure on Moscow

PEJOURNAL - The United States stopped the Russian government on Monday from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at American banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of U.S. dollars. Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions were frozen. But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis. On…

The deterioration of the United States is Europe’s best opportunity for political independence

BY: William Holmes The hasty, unplanned, and catastrophic withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan has rightly raised concerns among its allies who rely on the US military for security. In fact, in such a situation, countries such as South Korea, Japan or European governments cannot be sure of the correctness of the interim decisions of the United States and the consequences for their strategic and long-term policies. In other words, given the US approach to strengthening its strength in East Asia and the South China Sea, which is aimed at confronting Beijing, its allies, especially Europe, must take responsibility…

SCFR: Russia’s Constitutional Reforms and its impact on Moscow’s Foreign Policy

PEJOURNAL - Russia’s constitutional reform referendum will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the country’s future, but if we look at this referendum in its context of international reform, we will face two important principles that seem to play a significant role in explaining Russia’s foreign policy approach in the future. First, the amendment to Article 79 of the Russian Constitution emphasizes that if an international law is enacted that is contrary to the Russian Constitution, foreigners will not be allowed to rule against Russia, and the criterion will be the Russian Constitution. After the lapse of more than two…