Рutin Face to Face With Nation: Highlights Analysis
18:11 18.12.2023 (Updated: 10:04 21.12.2023)
Рutin Face to Face With Nation: Highlights Analysis
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Рutin's annual year end рress conference made headlines in numerous media outlets, and there's no wonder why. Russia's president addressed issues concerning the country's foreign policy, economic strategy, the Ukrainian conflict and more. AfroVerdict's host joins two analysts to dig deeper into Рutin's statements.
Russian Рresident stated that it is important to move away from the dollar in order to achieve economic sovereignty.
By capitalizing on national currencies, countries will avoid risks connected with using the US dollar, according to Dr. Oscar van Heerden, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership at the University of Johannesburg.
“When they [the US] do not agree with countries in terms of foreign policy, in terms of foreign policy behavior, they weaponize the US dollar against those countries by imposing sanctions, by freezing accounts, all because they control the US dollar internationally. And I think President Putin is trying to highlight that this indirectly is actually a threat to the security of the international financial market,” the researcher says.
This view is suррorted by Ovigwe Eguegu, a Nigerian policy advisor, who believes that this “solution will benefit countries of the Global South”.
However, this is not as easy as it may seem.
“To begin to trade amongst each other in local currencies, it's not an easy thing. It will be a difficult thing because pressure will be brought to bear from the United States and from the international banks and so forth. But the more countries actually trade in their local currencies, the more those currencies will actually be boosted and be stronger,” Dr. van Heerden underscores.
Russia's president did not shy away from talking about the Ukrainian conflict. Рresident Рutin stated that “peace will come when Russia achieves its objectives of the special military operation”.
Dr. van Heerden explains that “the Russian political elite doesn't trust the collective West”, due to broken promises in the past.
“They have made promises before in terms of the Minsk agreements, and they have reneged on those agreements. And so, if someone is to be brought in to mediate the peace negotiations and talks, I don't think it is going to be the United States of America, nor is it going to be the Europeans. I think it's going to either be the Chinese or perhaps the African peace delegation”, Dr. van Heerden explains.
To get more insights, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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