Ukraine ambassador to the Singapore, Kateryna Zelenko, has called total ban on imports or Russia oil and gas, emphasizing that the current sanctions targeting the country’s financial industry is ineffective.
While expressing her government’s appreciation to the international community for their effort so far, the ambassador asserted that more active measures must be taken to stop the funding of Russia’s military capabilities and prevent further casualties.
In an exclusive interview with founder of The Asian Banker and its international resource director, respectively, Emmanuel Daniel and Mathew Welch, to discuss the implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the financial services industry, the ambassador said that the global financial services community can and must contribute to helping stop the war.
“These sanctions are not sufficient to stop further bloodshed. That is why active measures have to be taken in order to achieve more progress. We see that only seven out of the top 50 Russian banks have been disengaged from SWIFT.
“We see that a large number of international companies keep working in Russia, paying taxes, it means that they keep funding this terrible military machine,” said the ambassador.
She also cited the continuing import of Russian oil and gas as an important enabler of its military actions in Ukraine. “A big issue here is oil and natural gas exports, which make up about 45% of revenues of the Russian federal budget. We believe that imposing an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports may stop Russia”.
The ambassador is hopeful that more countries will be willing to contribute to the peaceful solution and to stopping Russia’s aggression by banning energy imports from the aggressor country.
She added that the business community too needs a predictable and secure environment to move forward and for the planet to be a safer. To this end, countries and their people must be willing to suffer “short-term pain for the long-term gain”.
Recounting the costs of the war so far that has seen the loss of thousands of Ukrainian lives, including hundreds of children, she said that the “financial pain is nothing compared to the pain and losses we are suffering”.
She warned that a protracted war will have global ramifications for the entire world, especially with Russia’s threat to provoke spikes in global food and energy prices, and is one that no country can sit out.
“It is now clear to everyone that no one will be able to sit out this terrible war. We already see implications for many countries across the globe, as we need to keep in mind that Ukraine is one of the major exporters of essential food products globally.
“It is crucial for every country, not only in Europe, but also in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, to think about those hundreds of millions of people across the globe who are now at risk of unstable access to food, malnutrition, and even famine.”
By Chidi Ekpewerechi
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