Sanctions will lead to a 'sharp contraction' of the Russian economy: IMF
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva on Friday said that the sanctions Western countries have imposed on Moscow will lead to a "sharp contraction" of the Russian economy. She further highlighted that Russia is "moving into a deep recession" with the depreciation of the ruble. She said that a debt default is no longer "an improbable event.""We got through a crisis like no other with the pandemic. We are now in an even more shocking territory. The unthinkable happened: We have a war in Europe," Kristalina said. Meanwhile, as per US media, President Joe Biden is poised to announce the revocation of Russia’s “most favoured nation” trade status, which would allow higher tariffs to be imposed on some Russian imports.He will announce the plans "to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine" at the White House at 10:15 a.m. EST (1515 GMT), as per CNN. Stripping Russia of its favoured nation status paves the way for the US and its allies to impose tariffs on a wide range of Russian goods, which would further ratchet up pressure on an economy that is already heading into a "deep recession."Completely unaffected by the sanctions, Russia kept up its bombardment of besieged Mariupol while Kyiv braced for an onslaught, its mayor boasting that the capital had become practically a fortress protected by armed civilians.