US President Joe Biden and the G7 leaders have reached an agreement banning new gold imports from Russia as they extend sanctions against Moscow for its war against Ukraine. The information is spread by some of the top major news outlets, told a source on Saturday.
According to media reports, the decision was taken by the countries to tighten the existing sanctions against official Moscow.
Moreover, a source from one of the major news outlets said that the countries would announce the relevant decision at the summit scheduled for Sunday, June 26, in Germany. According to a source close to the issue, all countries in the Big Seven will be banned from importing gold from Russia.
He also went on to say that the US Treasury Department will issue a decree banning the import of Russian gold to the country on Tuesday, June 28.
According to the source, this will isolate Russia from the gold exchange, which will create additional economic problems for the country and further complicate the financing of the war in Ukraine.
The US has rallied the world in imposing significant economic costs on Moscow to deny Russian President Vladimir Putin the revenue he needs to fund his war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, a major news agency writes that gold is the largest asset of the Russian Central Bank. Russia produces about 10% of its gold annually, making it the second-largest supplier worldwide. The country’s gold reserves tripled in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea.
Gold is a vital asset for the central bank of Russia, which has faced limitations in accessing some of its assets held in foreign countries because of Western sanctions.
Prohibiting the import of Russian gold would be the latest of several rafts of embargoes targeting Russia since its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, which has killed or wounded several people.
