Translated material
The price of a “special operation” in Ukraine. Online August 27-28
The Bell continues to conduct online, dedicated to the economic consequences of the "special military operation" in Ukraine, which began on February 24
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14:53 EU foreign ministers intend to support the suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, reports the Financial Times. The announcement will be made at a two-day meeting in Prague starting Tuesday, three EU officials involved in the talks said.
The visa facilitation agreement between Russia and the EU was signed in 2007. Its gap means that when applying, Russians will need more documents, the visa will cost more, and the processing time will increase. One of the FT's interlocutors said the EU is ready to "go further than phasing out visa facilitation", but there is no consensus yet on additional restrictions.
14:15 Bulgaria will not negotiate a new gas supply contract with Gazprom, said Hristo Aleksiev, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy of the country's technical government, . In the long term, the launch of an international tender for LNG supplies. Sofia also confirmed its interest in participating in the mechanisms for joint purchases of energy resources, which can be created within the framework of the EU Energy Platform.
More than 90% of the gas consumed by Bulgaria came from Russia, until Gazprom stopped deliveries at the end of April due to Sofia's refusal to convert payments into rubles.
12:06 American computer manufacturer Dell completely stopped working in Russia and closed its Russian offices, confirmed to Reuters. a company representative
The main thing for the night and morning:
- The German government has created a holding company in order to nationalize, if necessary, the former German subsidiary of Gazprom, Gazprom Germania, which came under the supervision of the Federal Grid Agency and was renamed Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), writes Welt am Sonntag . The holding received a similar name - Securing Energy for Europe Holding GmbH (SEEHG). From the agreement on its establishment, which the publication has read, it follows that the goal is “to ensure the reliability of supplies in the energy sector.”
- The occupation authorities of a part of the Zaporozhye region have developed a plan for the evacuation of the population in the event of an accident at the ZNPP. The administration claims that now the station is operating normally and the radiation level is normal. Since July, Moscow and Kyiv have mutually accused each other of shelling nuclear power plants. The trip of the IAEA delegation is expected in the coming days.
- The United States increased the supply of weapons to Ukraine by sea in the spring, said the Pentagon . This happened after Washington began to provide Kyiv with howitzers and other heavy weapons, which require a constant influx of large-caliber ammunition. In the first weeks of the armed conflict, the United States used aircraft to make deliveries as quickly as possible.
Continued online 28 August.
18:23 The European Union disagreed about issuing tourist visas to Russians. According to Bloomberg, France and Germany are pushing for non-government Russian citizens to continue getting visas, especially students, artists and academia. “Realizing the concerns of some bloc countries in this regard, we should not underestimate the transformative power of our own life experiences in democratic systems, especially for future generations,” France and Germany said in a statement cited by the publication. A number of states bordering Russia, including the Baltic states and Finland, are demanding a general ban on entry for Russian tourists. One of the compromise options, which should be discussed by foreign ministers in Prague next week, is the complication of the bureaucratic procedure and the increase in the cost of the Schengen visa.
17:48 The authorities want to reduce the time of flights to Sochi and Turkey, RBC learned . To do this, airlines may be allowed to use part of the airspace in southern Russia, which has been closed since February 24. The issue will be discussed at the clarification meeting on 29 August. According to the forecast of one of the interlocutors of the publication, the flight time from Vnukovo to Sochi as a result can be reduced by more than 20 minutes, and back by 10 minutes.
16:04 Vladimir Putin allowed refugees from Ukraine, as well as the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, to stay in Russia for an unlimited time. To do this, they need to pass a medical examination. Deportation threatens only persons released from places of deprivation of liberty or posing a threat to national security - the latter includes, for example, participation in unsanctioned rallies. Another presidential decree establishes the amount of social benefits.
15:19 The NPT conference, which took place from August 1 to 26, ended without a final communiqué after the Russian delegation announced its unwillingness to sign it. She made several complaints about the text, in particular, where she expressed “serious concern” about military actions around Ukrainian power plants, including the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Another section referred to "the loss of control by the competent authorities of Ukraine over such facilities as a result of these hostilities, as well as their profound negative impact on security."
12:33 Russian banks will be able to sell to citizens cash dollars and euros received from various sources, and not just received by cash desks from individuals after April 9. The time threshold is saved.
The main thing for the night and morning:
- Russian coal miners are faced with the refusal of European insurers to work with them due to sanctions, said Deputy Energy Minister Sergei Mochalnikov. It is companies from the EU, Great Britain and Switzerland that are the largest insurers of such cargoes to any country in the world, so the reorientation of coal supplies to India, Turkey and other areas turned out to be problematic.
- The issuance of 10-year passports was suspended due to the need to reformat the electronic chip, explained the Russian Foreign Ministry . The chip with the owner's biometric data is installed in the documents of the new sample. The supplier of electronic media for international passports reported that the last shipment was normal.
- The IMF called on the central banks of all countries of the world to pursue a tough policy of combating inflation. As the first deputy manager of the IMF, Gita Gopinath, clarified , this will be necessary over the next five years. The coronavirus pandemic and hostilities in Ukraine gave a special impetus to inflation, the organization stressed.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the export of 1 million tons of agricultural products through Ukrainian ports as part of a grain deal. This relieves the acuteness of the food crisis and prevents a catastrophic shortage, the head of Ukraine stressed.
- Coca-Cola in Russia will be sold under the Dobry Kola brand, said Mikhail Goncharov, founder of the Teremok fast food chain. According to Fontanka , retail supplies of soda will resume before the end of this week.