Putin wants Russia to boost its use of metals to counter Western sanctions
April 20, 2022, 6:34 pm

Putin wants Russia to boost its use of metals to counter Western sanctions

Putin wants Russia to boost its use of metals to counter sanctions (Photo: Pixabay)

The Arab News reported, citing Reuters, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for structural changes in Russia’s metallurgical industry to counter Western sanctions he said were starving it of some components and restricting its ability to sell some goods abroad.

Speaking at a televised meeting with industry officials and company executives, Putin said Russia should increase its domestic consumption of metals by building factories, infrastructure and housing.

He said: “To support demand for domestic metal, we must launch long-term projects and programs whose effect the entire economy will feel."

Russia is a major producer of metals including aluminum, nickel, copper and steel, with annual exports worth tens of billions of dollars.

“There is no reason to believe that the behavior of our partners will fundamentally change. We must make changes to the structure of production and the supply of Russian metallurgical products.” (File photo: Facebook page)

The industry provides jobs for hundreds of thousands, usually in places where other work is hard to find.

It is also a vital sector at time of war, when Russia has lost more than 500 tanks, 100 APCs and hundreds of other fighting vehicles in Ukraine, according to Oryx, a respected Dutch website that is trusted by military experts.

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Western countries have imposed sanctions against Russia in an effort to force the Kremlin to withdraw troops it sent into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The West has not sanctioned metals-producing companies, seeking to avoid supply shortages that would push up prices for companies and consumers around the world.

But sanctions have targeted shareholders in some of these firms, which have faced an exodus of board members, complications paying foreign debt, problems importing foreign equipment and sharp falls in their share prices.

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Many banks, shippers and consumers have sworn off new investment in Russia and avoided handling Russian metal, forcing Russian firms to find new supply routes.

Putin said: “There is no reason to believe that the behavior of our partners will fundamentally change."

“We must make changes to the structure of production and the supply of Russian metallurgical products,” he added, calling for an expansion in industrial capability and the range of products Russia produces.

Putin said the West’s “illegal” restrictions had cut off markets for Russian finished products and stopped Russian producers from buying components.

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He said this ran counter to World Trade Organization rules and told his government to update Russia’s strategy in the WTO.

The Kremlin calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to demilitarise and “denazify” the country. However, Kyiv and its Western allies reject those arguments as a false pretext for an unprovoked attack.

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.