Ukraine Crisis May Force Russia Out of Markets

Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting that forcing Russia out of global financial markets is the strongest tool that U.S. President Barack Obama has to stop Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions.

“The biggest weapon in terms of sanctions would be similar sanctions to what we did in Iran and basically try to exclude Russia from international financial markets,” William Pomeranz, deputy director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington told Bloomberg Businessweek. “The Russians fear that, and that is what the Russians want to avoid.”

According to the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, the U.S. Treasury Department is capable of freezing Russia’s access to bank loans, credit cards, clearing and settlements of transactions. This would basically force Russia out of the global markets.

“The U.S. has massive impact in the world of finance since the world is so interconnected,” Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington said. “Do sanctions on the four big Russian state banks and that will have a big negative impact and continue to sanction Putin’s cronies.”

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