The US authorities believe that they have already introduced the bulk of the sanctions against the Russian Federation, and now it is necessary to achieve their implementation, Jake Sullivan, US presidential adviser on national security, said on Thursday.
“We believe that we have adopted the main sanctions, and in the coming days we will focus our attention on trying to avoid their action,” Sullivan was quoted by Western media as saying at the Economic Club forum in Washington.
According to him, in the coming two weeks, the US administration will announce measures to identify those who help the Russian Federation to circumvent the sanctions imposed because of the full-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and because of the aggression of Russian troops shocking the world.
“I think that in the next one or two weeks we will announce those who contribute to the circumvention of sanctions both in Russia and abroad,” the adviser stressed.
American farmers plan to significantly increase sunflower crops this year due to supply disruptions amid Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg writes.
At the same time, a jump in agricultural prices to record levels for many years could increase motivation among farmers to plant more, said John Sandbakken, executive director of the National Sunflower Association. The USDA tentatively forecasts a 10% increase in sunflower acreage this year.
“I’m sure the increase will be more, almost 20%,” Sandbakken said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg.
Sunflower is used in a very wide range of products, from potato chips and sunflower oil for frying to bird food and shampoos. However, this year this commodity may be in short supply, as Ukrainian farmers are forced to reduce acreage and exports due to hostilities in the country. Ukraine is considered one of the world’s largest sunflower exporters.
Meanwhile, last year’s devastating drought in the northern Great Plains of the United States plays into the hands of American farmers this year, as it left excess nitrogen in the ground, which reduces fertilizer costs, Bloomberg notes.
The price of new crop sunflower in the US is about $34 per 100 pounds (about 45 kg), higher than the previous record price of $30.5 reached in 2008. Old crop sunflower prices are also nearing their highest since 2011, Sandbakken notes.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a ban on the import of Russian oil into the United States. In a press statement in Washington on Tuesday, he stated: “Today I am announcing new sanctions. We ban all oil imports. The measure has strong bipartisan support. We made this decision in close consultation with allies in Europe.”
At the same time, Biden noted that “our European allies may not be in a position to join us.”
The U.S. President called on Congress to pass a $12 billion aid package for Ukraine. He noted that the United States has already provided Ukraine with a $1 billion security assistance package and is coordinating actions in this area with European allies.
Speaking about the impact of sanctions on Russia, Biden noted that “the Russian economy has cracked.” “The Central Bank of Russia is trying to support the ruble, but cannot do it now. We are restricting Russians’ access to technology, which will weaken its military for many years to come.” “If we don’t confront Putin now, the situation will get even worse,” he said.
BAN, BIDEN, IMPORT, RUSSIAN OIL, US
DTEK Energy, amid low coal stocks at its TPPs’ warehouses, has begun importing thermal coal from Kazakhstan and is negotiating coal supplies from Poland and the United States, the company’s press service has said.
According to the press service, DTEK Energy is actively looking for opportunities to provide TPPs with additional imported coal.
“Despite the increased demand for coal on global markets, we are actually starting to import it. The first batch from Kazakhstan is already on its way. Next week we expect the start of coal supplies from Poland. We are also negotiating the supply of shiploads from the United States,” CEO of DTEK Energy Ildar Saleev said.
According to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, coal stocks in the warehouses of thermal power plants of five power generating companies (DTEK Dniproenergo, DTEK Zakhidenergo, DTEK Skhidenergo, Centrenergo and Donbasenergo) as of Wednesday morning dropped to 754,000 tonnes, which is almost 500,000 tonnes less than the accumulation schedule approved by the ministry on August 11 (1.237 million tonnes).
A meeting between U.S. President Joseph Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled for June 16 in Geneva, will be devoted to developing rules for their confrontation that are manageable and predictable for both sides, both in Ukraine and on a number of other international issues, political scientist believes, Director of the Institute of Global Strategies Vadym Karasiov said.
“The point of the Biden-Putin meeting will be to develop rules for the confrontation between the United States and Russia so that this confrontation is manageable. This also applies to Ukraine, judging by Putin’s recent interview. It should be understood that Ukraine remains for a long time a territory where the interests of the United States and Russia will come into contact. It is important for Biden and Putin to understand the limits of this influence and to make the overlapping of their interests more predictable and manageable and not turn into direct or even military clashes,” “Karasiov told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, it will also be important for the Russian President to hear from the U.S. President about his plans to provide Ukraine with the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP).
According to political scientist, Director of the Ukrainian Barometer sociological service Viktor Nebozhenko, “one should not expect sensations from the meeting between Biden and Putin, although the background itself and the upcoming negotiations will be quite sharp.”
“There are exaggerated expectations against an overly aggressive background. Biden fears the Republican party, which, criticizing him, is gaining strength. In turn, Putin fears losing control over gas transit, as once happened with Gorbachev [Soviet President Mykhail Gorbachev]. As a result of their meeting, there will be no easy decisions on certain issues. There will be an intricate text of the communique, a general press conference, but we will not get something that would give us the opportunity to draw quick conclusions,” Nebozhenko said.
According to the political scientist, “sensations should be expected by the autumn.” “After Putin and Biden, other players will come to the fore, namely, China, the EU countries, even Ukraine, each with its own political party.”
According to expert of Hardarika Strategic Consulting Corporation Kostiantyn Matviyenko, in the conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States around Ukraine, the key issue will be the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
“They will try to find such a mechanism so that Russia does not ‘lose face’ in the gas pipeline construction, and the United States can show that they ensure the security of Ukraine,” he told the agency.
Matviyenko said the leaders of Russia and the United States will focus, in addition to Ukraine, on the issue of resuming the nuclear deal with Iran, the Russian initiative to ease sanctions, “since they are” hitting “its technical capabilities in the military sector,” as well as Russia’s access to world food markets and seeking informal quota arrangements.
According to PhD in Political Science, political scientist Ihor Petrenko, the talks between the presidents of the United States and Russia “will most likely focus on environmental issues, since it is in this that they can reach consensus and progress.”
“If you recall, Putin devoted a significant part of his address to the Federal Assembly in April to ecology. It was a kind of pass towards Biden. And ecology is one of the electoral promises of the U.S. leader, important for his political agenda,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
Allegations of the existence of a crisis of confidence between the leadership of the United States and Ukraine do not correspond to reality, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said.
“Allegations of the existence of a crisis of confidence between the leadership of the United States and Ukraine do not correspond to reality,” Nikolenko said in response to an inquiry from Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth).
The speaker supported the recent statements from the US Embassy in Ukraine, where they promised that Joe Biden would call Volodymyr Zelensky soon, noting that the United States did not put forward any prerequisites for such negotiations.
“Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and now the US Embassy in Kyiv, has clearly announced the preparation of a telephone conversation between the leaders of the two countries without any preconditions. There are no grounds to question the strategic nature of the partnership between Ukraine and the United States,” Nikolenko said.
He also accused certain public figures, without calling names, of “inventing contrived stories” about relationship problems. “There is a crisis of public assessments of some Ukrainian figures,” the diplomat said.
