14 May, 2022 13:57

Ukraine has ‘suspended’ peace talks – Putin

Kiev has not shown interest in “serious” and meaningful dialogue, the Russian president said

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has been “de facto suspended” by Kiev, President Vladimir Putin has said. He made the remarks during a phone call with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, on Saturday.

The discussion focused on Finland’s push for NATO membership, which has been reinvigorated amid the Ukrainian crisis. According to the Finnish president’s office, Niinisto told Putin that his country is set to make a decision on joining the US-led military bloc within days.

“Vladimir Putin, in particular, shared his assessment of the state of the negotiation process between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, which has been de facto suspended by Kiev, which has not shown interest in a serious and meaningful dialogue,”the Kremlin said in a statement

Putin warned that Helsinki’s move to abandon its “traditional policy of military neutrality”would be a “mistake,” stressing that there were “no threats to Finland’s security.” The move “may have a negative impact” on “mutually beneficial” relations between the two countries, he outlined.

Finland's neighbor Sweden, is also considering a NATO membership, and could lodge its application as early as Monday, according to local media reports.

https://www.rt.com/russia/555475-ukraine-suspended-peace-talks/

14 May, 2022 07:02

Russian economy stronger than expected – JPMorgan

The Wall Street bank predicts only a moderate recession due to sanctions

Russia's economy is coping better with Ukraine-related Western sanctions than could be expected, JPMorgan Chase said in a note to clients dated last week and made public on Monday.

According to the biggest US investment bank, business sentiment surveys from the country “are signaling a not very deep recession in Russia, and therefore imply upside risks to our growth forecasts.” It also cited high-frequency indicators such as electricity consumption and financial flows, which signal that the economy is in better shape than predicted.

“The data at hand therefore do not point to an abrupt plunge in activity, at least for now,” the bank’s analysts state in the note, as cited by Business Insider.

JPMorgan also backtracked on its earlier forecasts of a 35% drop in Russian GDP in the second quarter and 7% for all of 2022, now saying the figures are likely to be much less alarming. The bank did, however, note that the impact of current and potential sanctions will be felt, and that the country’s economy would be in far better shape if Moscow had not launched its military operation in Ukraine.

“The impact of sanctions will continue building in coming quarters, we expect. The GDP profile, therefore, looks increasingly likely to be consistent with a drawn-out, but not very sharp recession,” the analysts predict, noting that export orders are showing a particular decline.

Russia has faced unprecedented economic restrictions since it launched a military operation in Ukraine, drawing intense condemnation from the West. The US has, among other measures, placed an embargo on Russian oil, one of the country’s major export commodities, while the EU is currently preparing its sixth package of sanctions, and also considering an oil ban. Russia has been cut off from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, while banks, organizations and individuals have been sanctioned, and assets including half the country’s forex reserves have been frozen. Russia has responded with countermeasures and managed to bring the national currency, the ruble, back to its pre-conflict level after a historic drop, but there is still much uncertainty among analysts as to the future of the economy.

https://www.rt.com/business/555444-jpmorgan-russia-economy-strong/

14 May, 2022 13:08

Bulgaria’s natural gas price surges

The price spiked after Sofia rejected Russia’s demand to pay for supplies in rubles

The natural gas price in Bulgaria has soared by 13.7%, the state news agency BTA reported on Friday.

Bulgaria’s Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) has set a new price of 162.17 BGL, or €82.83 per megawatt hour (MWh) compared to the April rate of €72.83, according to the agency.

The EWRC said the increase will have a minimal impact on household bills, as the heating season has ended. The regulator attributed the price rise to the supply freeze from Russia.

Russian energy giantGazprom suspended gas exports to Bulgaria and Poland in late Aprilafter they refused to make payments in rubles.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin required states that have imposed sanctions on Russia, and are still importing its gas, to use the Russian currency for transactions. Several EU countries have accepted Moscow’s demand.

Bulgargaz, the largest Bulgarian natural gas distribution company, has said Azerbaijan will provide the country’s entire supply from this summer, albeit at a higher price. Later on, Bulgaria plans to connect to an as-yet-unfinished Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Greece, where gas will be imported by ship, likely from the US.

Earlier this month, the Bulgarian Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (BFIEC) said industry workers were preparing to protest over soaring gas prices. Bulgarian businesses called on the government to take steps “to make it possible to resume talks with Gazprom” after the Russian company cut off gas supplies to the country.

https://www.rt.com/business/555472-gas-prices-bulgaria-surge-russia/