Time is not on Russia’s side because the country’s economic prospects are so dark, writes Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen in a column for The Economist magazine.
Foreign minister Elina Valtonen (co.) writes the financial magazine The Economistthat Western countries are in a favorable position in relation to Russia, whose economic prospects are gloomy.
– Russia is far from an invincible natural force. The autocrats who rule it resort to an unsustainable war economy, which shows serious weaknesses, Valtonen writes.
According to Valtonen, the Russian economy suffers from sanctions.
– Unlike Vladimir Putin says or some believe, sanctions work.
According to him, they bite even when they do not directly block the flow of oil or gas, for example, because they complicate logistics and increase costs.
Consumer prices rise and the population decreases
Valtonen also highlights the fact that Russian consumer prices have risen by a third since 2021.
This is mainly due to the increase in import costs and the increase in the labor shortage. The population has decreased due to low birth rates, high mortality rates and people who have gone into exile, Valtonen writes.
Military spending burdens the Russian state budget. Still, Russia’s gross domestic product grew by 3.5 percent last year. According to Valtonen, there would be no growth without war-related industries.
According to Valtonen, increasing military spending eats up a large part of Russia’s budget. Russia cannot borrow money from abroad because it has little or no access to international capital markets.
In addition to this, the ruble has weakened and would be even weaker if the central bank had not supported it with emergency purchases.
– Because the economic outlook is so gloomy, time is not on Russia’s side. Putin has put his war against Ukraine ahead of the well-being of his own people.
More pressure on the economy
Valtonen calls for increasing economic pressure on Russia and preventing evasion of sanctions, such as the use of a shadow fleet. He also highlights the recent cable damage in the Gulf of Finland and the fact that several measures to limit the use of the shadow fleet are underway.
Valtonen also writes that Ukraine’s economic and military support should be continued.
– The war is anything but lost.
Europeans must be prepared to bear greater responsibility for their own security Donald Trump’s in preparation for the second presidential term, Valtonen writes.
Valtonen believes that the United States will continue to support Ukraine and Europe.
The topic was reported earlier Ilta-Sanomat.