Page 31 - RusRPTDec23

imposed a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil exports.
Canada lifts sanctions on Russian billionaire following lawsuit. Canada's Foreign Ministry agreed to remove sanctions against Russian oligarch Oleg Boyko after he filed a lawsuit, Forbes Russia reported on Nov. 16.
EU mulls plan to ban sale of oil tankers to Russia. Any sales of tankers to a third country would include clauses forbidding the subsequent resale of ships to Russia or freighting Russian oil products in defiance of Western price caps, such as $60 per barrel of crude.
President Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden during the APEC summit in November that there are two options for China and the U.S. in the era of global transformations unseen in a century: One is to enhance solidarity and cooperation and join hands to meet global challenges and promote global security and prosperity; and the other is to cling to the zero-sum mentality, provoke rivalry and confrontation, and drive the world toward turmoil and division. The two choices point to two different directions that will decide the future of humanity and Planet Earth.
Bratislava to reject EU's latest sanctions package if it includes ban on Russia nuclear fuel. Slovakia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said Bratislava will not back the EU’s 12th package of sanctions against Russia if it bans the import of Russian nuclear fuel, Slovak news agency Tasr reported on Nov. 18.
Russia has never had any aggressive plans to expand in Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on November 27. Commenting on US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin’s remarks that if the United States stopped supporting Ukraine, Russia would win and go after Baltic countries, Poland and other neighboring states next, Lavrov said, "This comes from a man who holds a high-ranking position and cannot but receive expert views, including of Pentagon specialists who specialize in analyzing relations between Moscow and Washington and who cannot but understand what is going on in Ukraine and that Russia has never had and can never have any aggressive or expansionist plans." He stressed that Russia was forced to launch its special military operation in Ukraine because the neo-Nazi regime in that country, condoned by the West, has taken to exterminating everything Russian.
Russia likely driving revitalization of North Korean special economic zone. Although most of North Korea's trade (97%) is with China, experts who spoke to Reuters believe that the recent increase in economic activity at the Special Economic Zone is likely due to Russia.
31 RUSSIA Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com