Page 23 - RusRPTNov18

2.11 Politics - misc
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called for ending EU sanctions against the Russian government and improving trade between the two nations despite current sanctions during his Oct. 24 visit to Moscow. The current conflict between Russia and the West has continued for too long, Conte said. “Sanctions are not a goal for Italy. They are an instrument that needs to be overcome as soon as possible,” he said, as reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.” The Italian government is the only one in Europe that has included removing sanctions against Russia as part of its coalition agreement, and therefore part of its law, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe, told the 5 Kanal television network on Oct. 24.
Russia could hit some 360 Ukrainian companies and 50 individuals with sanctions under the terms of a draft sanction package in the Duma aimed at Ukraine in a tit-for-tat retaliation to impending new “crushing” sanctions that could be imposed on Russia by the US this autumn, news agencies said on October 30 citing unnamed sources.
Russian ruble got a bump of 0.7-1% against US dollar and euro on the trading day of October 24, after US National Security Advisor John Bolton said Washington is " not considering new Russia sanctions right now ," during a visit to Moscow. However, full transcript of Bolton's comments that became available later same day showed Bolton was only referring to addition sanctions for the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal on British soil, and not a draft law containing “crushing” sanctions awaiting reading by Congress that could target Russia’s sovereign debt.
US Congress is unlikely to pass any new sanctions on Russia, including proposals that would affect Russian sovereign debt and energy projects, until after the November mid-term elections, Bloomberg reported on September 27 citing unnamed sources. Although the White House has been maintaining Russian sanction pressure in the past weeks, since August the greatest sanction risks came from the "crushing" measures from the US Congress . The uncertainty will now be prolonged, as Bloomberg claims that the bills are scheduled for votes before it goes into recess in October.
In the nearest future the Russian government will pass sanctions against Ukraine , Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev said as cited by Interfax on October 23. The announcement follows the decree signed by President Vladimir Putin tasking the government to draw a list of sanctions, "in response to Ukraine’s unfriendly actions, related to the introduction of restrictive measures against citizens and legal entities of the Russian Federation," as well as to “protect national interests."
Russia may be excluded from the number of participants in the Council of Europe (PACE) if it does not transfer contributions to the organization’s budget by the middle of next year, said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland. Russia has not paid its dues for two years as part of the showdown with the west over Ukraine. Russia’s right to vote in the council was suspended in 2014.
As the US is poised to impose news sanctions on Russia that could target Russian sovereign debt it has emerged that the California Public Employees’ Retirement System or Calpers holds about $460mn in Russian government bonds as of the end of June 2018, up by 8% year-on-year, according to Bloomberg report as of October 11. The plan to target Russian debt could boomerang back on the US due to holdings like this as California is Russia’s 10th largest foreign creditor, behind other top US investors including BlackRock and Stone Harbor Investment Partners, the
23 RUSSIA Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com