As the EU prepares for sanctions, Russia threatens to put oil on a gold standard

Courtesy of Atlantic Sentinel

Kenneth Schortgen Jr

Finance Examiner

March 13, 2014

First it was the United States, which threatened Russia with economic sanctions and even a removal from the G-8 over their intervention in Ukraine and the Crimea. And now, on March 13, Europe appears to have finally gotten on board as well as the EU officially voted to impose their own form of sanctions on the Eur-Asian Superpower for the first time since the Cold War.
However, like with the Syrian crisis of last September, Russia is quickly retaliating with their own economic threats, and one major action that they could undertake as a response is to discard the Petro-Dollar and demand physical gold as payment for energy purchases in both oil and natural gas.
Just as the Iranians did under U.S. sanctions just a few years ago.

The biggest factor driving gold prices at the moment is the increasing tension between the West and Russia over Ukraine. The EU agreed on a framework yesterday for its first sanctions on Russia since the Cold War.
Russian government officials and businessmen are bracing for sanctions resembling those applied to Iran, and should Russian foreign exchange reserves and bank assets be frozen as is being suggested, then Russia would likely respond by wholesale dumping of their dollar reserves and bonds, and could opt to only accept gold bullion for payment for their gas, oil and other commodity exports. - Silver Doctors

Read More Here

.....

Moscow won't exclude sanctions to counter US and EU - Ministry

Published time: March 13, 2014 10:31
Edited time: March 13, 2014 15:08

RIA Novosti / Aleksandr Vilf

Russia is ready to retaliate with counter sanctions against the EU and US if they go ahead with economic measures against Russia over tension in Crimea, the Russian Economic Ministry has said.
"We hope that there will only be targeted political sanctions, and not a broad package affecting economic trade,” Deputy Economic Development Minister Aleksey Likhachev said.
“Our sanctions will be, of course, similar,” he added.
One way Russia plans on shielding itself from pending sanctions is by boosting trade in other currencies, not the US dollar.
“We need to increase trade volume conducted in national currencies. Why, in relation to China, India, Turkey and other countries, should we be negotiating in dollars? Why should we do that? We should sign deals in national currencies- this applies to energy, oil, gas, and everything else,” Aleksey Ulyukaev, the Minister of Economic Development said in an interview with the Vesti 24 TV channel.
The Duma, Russia’s parliament, is drafting legislation to allow Moscow to freeze assets of Western companies and individuals in the event sanctions are imposed following the Crimea referendum vote on March 16.
The bill would give “the president and government opportunities to defend our sovereignty from threats,” according to its author, Andrey Klishas, as quoted by RIA Novosti on March 5.
The US Congress has already denounced Russia’s actions in Ukraine. On Tuesday, lawmakers passed a resolution that urges the US to “to work with our European allies and other countries to impose visa, financial, trade and other sanctions on senior Russian Federation officials, majority state-owned banks and commercial organizations, and other state agencies, as appropriate.”

 Read More here

.....

Related articles

• Russia May Retaliate Sanctions By Demanding Payment For Exports In Gold
• Russia won't exclude sanctions to counter US and EU - Ministry
• America has put the dollar and Treasury reserve structure at risk over Ukraine
• Russia won't exclude sanctions to counter US and EU - Ministry