Armenia’s withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is only a matter of time, experts tell Izvestia. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, Yerevan has de facto suspended its activity within the Russian-led bloc in February and stopped making financial contributions to it in early May. The West is trying to integrate Armenia into its confrontation with Russia without any regard for Armenia’s security or the interests of the Armenian people, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Izvestia recently.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its key rates on hold at 5.25-5.5% again as the regulator acknowledged that it saw some progress on inflation. Market players are now penciling in the Fed’s first rate cut for September as they differ on where things will go from here. Russian experts insist that, despite the latest US sanctions, the Fed policy will continue to affect the Russian market through the global economy, commodity prices and the yuan exchange rate.
The Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) is seeking permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s Charge d’Affaires in Moscow Jamal Nasir Garwal told Izvestia. The Taliban government is also pushing for Afghanistan’s accession to BRICS and the EAEU.
The European Union has been unable to make a unanimous decision on whether to grant Hungary permission to purchase Russian natural gas through a pipeline bypassing Ukraine, RIA Novosti reports. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest will seek an exemption from the EU’s anti-Russian sanctions if it is denied permission to purchase Russian natural gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The US Federal Reserve has kept its key rates on hold at 5.25-5.5% again as the regulator acknowledged that it saw some progress on inflation. Market players are now penciling in the Fed’s first rate cut for September as they differ on where things will go from here. Russian experts insist that, despite the latest US sanctions, the Fed policy will continue to affect the Russian market through the global economy, commodity prices, and the yuan exchange rate.
The Times reports that Russia has been able to circumvent many of the recent US-led economic sanctions imposed on it by taking advantage of various countries around the world, according to a new report released recently. The report states that Russia managed to avoid at least $23bn (around £10.5m) worth of US and Western-backed economic sanctions over the course of 20 alone. This is despite the fact that the United States, in particular, had been actively trying to tighten up its grip on both the global economy and international trade flows for some time now – all in an effort to help put more pressure on both Moscow and Beijing (and their many allies and supporters around the world.