Russian
"Elite" Warns Of War With The
U.S.
“If there is no banking
relationship, it means the
countries are on the verge of
war.”
By Miriam Elder
January 23, 2015 "ICH"
- "Buzzfeed"
- DAVOS, Switzerland — The
head of a leading Kremlin-owned
bank warned on Friday that
further banking sanctions would
lead Russia and the U.S. to the
“brink of war.”
Andrei Kostin,
the head of VTB, reacted angrily
when asked what the consequences
would be if Russia were
excluded from the Swift banking
system, a secure means of
moving money across borders.
If it were to
happen, Kostin told a session on
the Russian economy at the World
Economic Forum in Davos,
“ambassadors can leave capitals.
It means Russia and America
might have no relationship after
that.”
“If there is
no banking relationship, it
means the countries are on the
verge of war, or definitely in
the cold war,” he said in
English, growing increasingly
red in the face. “It will be a
very dangerous situation.”
He said that
if Russia were excluded from the
Swift system, it would make the
U.S.–Russia relationship akin to
the U.S.–Iran one. He made the
comments after noting that
Russia had
recently created its own
alternative to Swift.
The U.S. and
EU have imposed numerous
sanctions on Russia, including
against VTB. (Kostin is not on
the sanctions list, and recently
spoke to the Wall Street
Journal about
vacationing in Aspen, Colorado.)
Igor Shuvalov,
a deputy prime minister and the
head of Russia’s delegation to
Davos, issued a stern warning to
those who would imagine Russia
without President Vladimir
Putin.
“I support my
president 100%,” Shuvalov said.
“When people ask that, they
don’t understand the Russian
character, they don’t know
Russian history.”
“If we think
someone from the outside wants
to change our leader, to go
against our will … we will be
united like never before.”
He brushed off
questions about Ukraine and
warned the West that it must
treat Russia like an equal
partner rather than having the
country “sit in the corner.” If
it failed to treat Russia
equally, Shuvalov warned,
Ukraine “will be a huge wound
for the next 10 years.”
Both Kostin
and Shuvalov lamented the
current economic situation,
which has seen Russia burn
through its reserves as the
ruble plummets. The ruble has
lost almost 50% of its value in
the past few months and
Russia is facing recession
following years of oil-fueled
growth.
“There is
nothing good in the current
situation,” Shuvalov said. “It’s
very difficult. I think it will
get worse.”
He said the
key now was to “teach people —
from state corporations to
citizens — to live differently.”
