Rabat – US President Joe Biden said that the Group of Seven (G7) will announce a ban on the import of Russian gold, to tighten sanctions around Moscow as the war in Ukraine continues raging on.
“The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war against Ukraine,” Biden said on Twitter.
“Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia,” he added.
The G7 summit is expected to deal with the global economy in light of the Ukraine war, as Ukraine continues to call for tightening restrictions around Russia and Putin.
The “G7 summit must respond with more sanctions on Russia and more heavy arms for Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday morning.
Gold exports are a major source of revenue for Russia, amounting to $15.45 billion. These exports are one of Russia’s traditional methods of performing transactions in the global system.
The sanctions from western powers hope to eat away at Russia’s economy, and consecutively at Putin’s ability to continue funding his Ukraine war. Past sanctions have included asset freezing, and blocking access to currency reserves.
The fight between Ukraine and Russia has been ongoing since late February, with Western powers firmly aligning themselves with Ukraine and international organizations such as the UN calling for the fighting to stop.
