Western countries have, since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, taken a salvo of sanctions against Russia intended to strangle it financially and economically. However, the Russian economy should, in 2022, be less penalized by international sanctions than expected, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pointed out on Tuesday July 26.
In addition, Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday in Yaoundé, Cameroon, wanting to “blow the neck of many Russian untruths” about the reasons for the world food crisis which, according to him, are “a certain success in African public opinion”.
- Russian economy fares better than expected from sanctions, IMF says
The Russian economy should, this year, be less penalized by international sanctions than what was expected, underlined the IMF. Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to contract by 6% in 2022, the International Monetary Fund anticipates, much less than the 8.5% plunge it expected in its previous forecast published in April.
“The Russian economy should have contracted less than expected in the second quarter, exports of crude oil and non-energy products holding up better than expected,” details the institution in its report. “In addition, domestic demand is also showing some resilience thanks to the containment of the effect of sanctions on the domestic financial sector and a less than expected weakening of the labor market,” the Fund added.
“This remains a deep recession for Russia in 2022,” said IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas in an interview with AFP. Western countries have, since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, taken a round of sanctions intended to strangle it financially and economically.
- Food crisis: Macron wants to “twist the neck” of Russian “untruths”
Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday in Yaoundé, Cameroon, that he wanted to “blow the neck of a lot of Russian untruths” about the reasons for the world food crisis. According to him, these are “a certain success in African public opinion”. “It is not the sanctions that have created the situation but the war decided by Russia. It is nevertheless the responsibility of Russia, the situation in which we are”, declared the French president during a meeting devoted to food security and the role of the private sector, organized at the residence of the French Embassy.
Emmanuel Macron began Tuesday by Cameroon – led with an iron fist for 40 years by Paul Biya – his first African tour since his re-election last April. During a joint press conference with his Cameroonian counterpart, the French head of state denounced the “hypocrisy” heard “especially on the African continent” consisting in not clearly recognizing “a unilateral aggression” by Russia towards Ukraine, as the European Union does.
At the same time, the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov, also on tour on the African continent, considered that Russia was not responsible for the “crises of energy and foodstuffs”. “There is a very vocal campaign around this, but our African friends understand the root cause,” he said from Entebbe, Uganda. “They (these crises) are not related to what is happening within the framework of the special military operation,” he added, using Kremlin terminology to refer to the conflict in Ukraine.
- Kramatorsk mayor expects ‘very difficult’ winter due to lack of gas
Oleksandre Gontcharenko, the mayor of Kramatorsk, the last major Donbass city still under Ukrainian control, expressed concern to AFP on Tuesday about a winter that will be “very difficult”, for lack of being able to “repair the damaged gas pipelines” and therefore heat the approximately 60,000 people still living there.
Located about forty kilometers from the combat zones, Kramatorsk, which had 150,000 inhabitants before the war, is the last administrative center still under Ukrainian control in the East. Target of Russian forces, it is regularly targeted by bombardments. “This winter will be very difficult. The whole Donetsk region is without gas and if the front line remains where it is today, it will not be possible to repair the damaged gas pipelines,” Oleksandre told AFP. Goncharenko.
The lack of gas would also force the authorities to cut off the water supply, which will freeze in winter due to sub-zero temperatures in the region. According to him, most of the 60,000 inhabitants of Kramatorsk who have decided to stay are elderly people: “They would rather die than leave.”
- Gas savings: EU states agree to help Germany
The energy ministers of the European Union agreed on Tuesday in Brussels for their countries to reduce their gas consumption in a coordinated way, thus flying to the aid of Germany, after the announcement of a new drastic drop in Russian deliveries.
“The European Union has confirmed that it is united and united. We have taken a huge step forward to secure the supply of gas this winter,” said Czech Minister Jozef Sikela, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council. “The negotiations were not easy, but in the end everyone understood that this sacrifice was necessary,” he added during a press conference.
Hungary, however, denounced an “unjustifiable, useless, unenforceable and harmful” agreement. Among the Twenty-Seven, only this country opposed the text, which is therefore adopted by qualified majority. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the adoption of the plan she presented last week. Although it has been extensively overhauled.