The United States imposed a ban on the purchase of Russian government bonds on the secondary market

by time news

The United States has imposed a ban on the purchase on the secondary market of Russian government bonds issued after March 1, 2022. This is stated in the message of the US Treasury, which published a list of sanctions after Russia recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

“As part of today’s action, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has also tightened restrictions on Russia’s sovereign debt transactions, further cutting Russia off from sources of revenue to fund its government or President Putin’s priorities, including his further invasion of Ukraine,” they said. in the US Treasury.

The directive issued by the ministry “extends existing sovereign debt prohibition measures” to the circulation on the secondary market of bonds issued after March 1, 2022 by the Central Bank, the National Welfare Fund or the Russian Ministry of Finance, the report said.

On February 22, US President Joe Biden announced the imposition of sanctions against two large “Russian financial institutions” – VEB.RF and Promsvyazbank (PSB), as well as Russian sovereign debt and representatives of Russian “elites”, including their children.

“VEB and PSB are state institutions that play a special role in maintaining the defense capability of Russia and its economy,” the agency motivates the imposition of sanctions against them, adding that VEB.RF also serves the Russian public debt, finances exports, investment and infrastructure projects. PSB, however, notes the US Treasury, is the eighth largest bank in Russia, which finances up to 70% of its state defense order.

On February 21, the heads of the DPR and LPR, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, asked Putin to recognize the independence of the republics in order to protect the local population from aggression from the Ukrainian security forces. In the evening, the President of Russia signed the relevant decrees, and on February 22, the State Duma and the Federation Council approved the federal law on the ratification of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with the DPR and LPR.

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