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By Suleiman Umaru
Naftali Bennett, Israeli Prime minister and Xi Jiping, the Premier Of China, appear to be under severe pressure from Joe Biden, the North American President of the United States, US, Boris Johnson, Prime minister of the United Kingdom, UK, The European Union, EU, Canada and other western nations, ‘’to join to impose financial and export control sanctions against Russia to force Vladimir Putin to end the Ukrainian war, which has entered its third week .
The Western Leaders were said to have taken advantage of the several dozen Jewish business tycoons from Russian:Roman Abramovich, Chelsea Foot Club, based in UK, Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven, Viktor Vekselberg, inandKonstantin Ernst, Head of Russia State TV, Channel one, including other Jewish Russians business tycoons who have been sanctioned because of their purported connections to Putin, the Russia President, and the Kremlin, to ask the Israeli Prime minister to join the west and other world Leaders, in approving economic sanctions on Russia to reduce the Oligarchs suffering.
. At the last count, the EU, have applied restrictive measures on about 862 individuals and 53 Russia and BBearus entities since the war started on Thursday, February 24, 2022. This is in addition’’’’ to restrictions on the export of maritime navigation and radio communication technology’’.
The US and EU , pressure appear to have put Bennett , the Israeli Prime minister, in a horn of dilemma whether to impose financial and export sanctions on Russia like the US, UK, EU and Candada, have done or not.Agency reports has it that since the disintegration of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR, about 30 years ago, an estimated one million Jews, from Ukraine, Russia, and other Russian Republics like Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrghzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzebekistan, Armenia Azerbaijan, and Georgia , had moved to Israel.
There are indications that in the recent years, a growing number of other business tycoons from the former USSR. One of them was Lenoid Nezlin, an energy magnate, who was said to have fallen out with Putin, showing the closeness between Russia and Israel. He was said to have returned to Israel to continue his business while others did so as’’ hedges against trouble abroad’’.
The biting Economic sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine by US and its allies may have informed why the Jewish business tycoons who own private Jets have been flying in and out of Israel in the recent time. One of the private Jets that was said to have arrived the country was said to have belonged to Abramovich a t-billionaire, Russian- Jewish business Oligarchs. The Western Leaders may want the Israeli Prime minister to also join in imposing financial and trade control sanctions on Russia to give a breather to the individual Jewish- Russian business tycoons who have link with Putin from being sanctioned.
Jiping, Premier of the Asian country of China who is under a similar pressure to stop trading with Russia may have ignored Biden, the US pResident. China is Russia’s top export mart market after the EU, which have stopped trading with it in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. Russia exports to China was said to be to be worth $79.3 billion in 2021, with oil and gas, accounting for 56 % of the export volume.
Biden, had said that China will ‘’face ‘’the consequences if it helps the East European country evade the economic sanctions’’ in its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Jake Sulivan, the US, National Security Adviser, NSA, had said that they are communicating directly and privately with Jiping that ‘’there will be absolutely be consequence for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or supply of military equipment, including drones to Russia’’.
Giving the adverse effect of the financial and trade sanctions imposed on Russian on its economy may have encouraged the Chinese Authorities to approve a lifeline for the country which gives ‘’the Putin government the opportunity ‘’to access $300 billion of its $640 billion war fund in gold and foreign reserve
. China could do that because Russia have part of its gold and foreign exchange reserves in the Chinese Yuan , which was a big blow to the US and the EU, , which controls the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, including other International Institutions providing financial systems ,the world-over.
Given the situation in Ukraine, may have informed why Antonio Gutrres, the United Nnations, UN, Secretary General, on Monday, March 14, 2022, had said that he is in close contact with the Leaders of India, China, France, Germany, Israel and Turkey and a number of other countries on mediation efforts to bring the Ukraine war to an end.
An aggrieved Gutterres, who could not hide his feelings had said that ‘’Ukraine is on fire’’. He lamented that ‘’the country is being decimated before the eyes of the world’’, noting that ‘’it is time for Putin to stop the horror unleashed on the people of Ukraine and get on the path of diplomacy and Peace’’.
The UN, Secretary General noted that ‘’it is not too late for the two countries, Ukraine and Russia, to embrace diplomacy and Dialogue’’, insisting that ‘’the tragedy must stop’’. Guterres appears to have sent a message to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Putin, his Russian Counterpart, including the US and its allies fueling the crisis that there must be’’ immediate cessation of hostilities and serious negotiations based on the principles of the UN Charter and International Law’’. He had said that ‘’the escalation of the war whether by accident or design, threatens all of humanity’’.
His major worry was that the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, have increased to more than 2.8 million, in what he said has become ‘’ Europe’s fastest-growing refuge crisis since WWII. EU fears that five million people may end up fleeing the Ukraine as Russian roll out the Tanks into the Ukraine Western region, including cities like Lviv.
The Ukrainian President may have been gladdened that talks between his home country , Ukraine and Russian delegations which had commenced on Monday, March 14, 2022, will continue on Tuesday,March 15, 2022.He had said that ‘’the Ukraine delegation did a good work during the Monday talks’’.
However, the talks may have entered Wednesday, March 16, 20222, as there were ‘’fundamental Contradictions’’ between the two sides, Mykhailo Podoyak, a top Ukranian Negotiator and Presidential Adviser had said. The Ukrainian top government functionary had described the video conference as very ‘’difficult and vicious’’ , stressing that he saw’’ possible room for compromise in the talks with Russia’’, as the country military have stepped up their shelling and bombardment of Kyiv, the Capital.
Ihor Zhovkva, another aide of President Zelensky may have gladdened the heart of Ukrainians when he disclosed that the ‘’Negotiations between the two sides have become more constructive’’ , noting that Russia had softened its stand by no longer airing its demands that’’ Ukraine must surrender’’, meaning that the three week-old war is drawing close to an end.
The latest Negotiations were the fourth round of talks between the two countries involving higher level government officials since the war broke out about three weeks ago. The Monday talks had ended without a breakthrough which may have informed why they took a ‘’technical pause and met again on Tuesaday, March 15,2022, to finalise their discussion but that was how far they could go. The Talks was said to have been extended to Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
At the instance of the EU ,Leadership, Petr Fiala, Prime minister of, Czech Republic, Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland and Janez Jansa,Slovenia, Prime minister, had crossed over to Ukraine by train’’ to show their unequivocal support’’, to President Zelenskyy, despite the Russia shelling and air raids of the country on Tuesday, march 15, 2022.
The trio are the first Heads of their respective countries government to visit Kyiv, Capital of Ukraine, since Russia invasion last month. Given the importance attached to the visit by the EU, political Leaders, may have informed why Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the Polish Deputy Polish Prime minister was also included on the EU high powered delegations to Ukraine
. They were said to have brought a message to Zelenskyy to always count on the support of the EU and other friends outside Europe. They may have toughened the Ukrainian President to continue the war and not surrender to Russia when they alluded to the fact that ‘’it is from here, in war-torn Kyiv that ‘’’’history is being made and Freedom fights against the world of tyranny, noting that ‘‘it is also here that the future of all former USSR allies hang in the balance’’, meaning that whatever thathappens in Ukraine will determine what will happen to the former allies of Russia in the future.
Biden, the US President is billed to travel to Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, Summit, later this March on the Ukraine conflict as fierce fighting rages on.
