Russia: US, allies manipulating oil prices to crash the ruble
The head of Russia’s external intelligence agency has made a bold accusation on Thursday: Washington and its allies are pursuing a regime change policy towards Russia, deliberately introducing sanctions and attacking the ruble through manipulation of world oil prices.
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Mikhail Fradkov, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), warned that Moscow is aware of US moves to oust Putin from power.
“Such a desire has been noticed, it’s a small secret,” Fradkov – a former prime minister – told Bloomberg. “No one wants to see a strong and independent Russia.”
Fradkov also attributed the more than 30 percent drop in oil price partly to US actions. Lower prices on one of Russia’s main exports placed immense pressure on the ruble, which is also suffering from sanctions. The ruble has lost 39 percent of its value against the dollar in 2014.
Foreign investment funds are “taking part” in ruble speculation via intermediaries, Fradkov said. “Any speculation has specific schemes and the schemes have a number of participants.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin noted in his Thursday address to the Federal Assembly that the government knows exactly who is profiting from speculation against the Russian ruble, and that the government and central bank have tools to punish them.
“The government knows who these profiteers are. It is time to do something about them,” Vladimir Putin said during his 11th state of the nation address in the Kremlin’s St. George’s Hall in Moscow.
The theme of message was that Russia will focus on domestic issues, solving the conflict with the Ukraine yet working with the West to “respect Moscow’s interests” in an effort to ease the political and economic tensions.
It will take two to four years to reach the “more objective understanding needed for lifting some barriers and cooperation,” Fradkov concluded.
[…] at the Saudi regime, which has used their power to manipulate the prices for geopolitical reasons. Vladimir Putin and others are calling out the U.S., claiming that this is a conspiracy to hurt the Russian economy or even crash the […]