Treasury Secretary to Press Other Countries to Ramp Up Sanctions on Russia

 

Janet Yellen will make the appeal at World Bank and IMF meetings this week

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onApril 18, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsRussia

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will press US allies to ramp up the economic pressure on Russia during meetings of World Bank and IMF members this week, a Treasury official told reporters on Monday.

The war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed in response are expected to be major topics of discussion at the meetings, which began Monday. The Treasury official said Yellen “will use this week’s meetings to work with allies to continue our united efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia while mitigating spillover effects.”

The official said Yellen will avoid some meetings if Russian officials are involved, including G20 meetings. The Biden administration wants to kick Russia out of the G20, but other members are hesitant to do so.

The US-led Western sanctions campaign against Russia has contributed to hurting the world’s economy, and the poorest countries are being hit the hardest. The Treasury official said Yellen is “deeply concerned” about the impact but said the US is “firm in our resolve to hold Russia and its leadership accountable, and have imposed crippling sanctions.”

While the US says it’s trying to hurt Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle, the sanctions are designed to decimate the Russian economy, which naturally hurts ordinary Russians. The sanctions are also having an impact on the economies of the US and Europe, something President Biden warned would happen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called the Western sanctions campaign a failure. He said the sanctions had caused a “deterioration of the economy in the West” while the Russian economy “has withstood the unprecedented pressure.”

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/04/18/treasury-secretary-to-press-other-countries-to-ramp-up-sanctions-on-russia/