Economy

Former senior director for international energy on US President George W Bush’s National Economic Council and CEO of the energy consultancy Rapidan Energy Group

04 Feb 2022 5 2

Tom Marzec-Manser

Inserted 2 years ago

“If Russia proactively cuts off the gas, it would be very difficult for a German utility to say, 'we want to sign another 10-year contract with a Russian counterparty'. That is precisely why Russia cutting off gas is extremely unlikely. It damages their own business and reputation in the medium and long term.”

Aljazeera

Head of gas analytics at Independent Commodity Intelligence Services

03 Feb 2022 2 2

Denys Shmygal

Inserted 2 years ago

“We have intensified negotiations with our Turkish partners to ensure that the (free trade) agreement meets the interests of Ukrainian business, creates opportunities for our exports and the potential for modernisation of Ukrainian enterprises.”

Reuters

Prime Minister of Ukraine

02 Feb 2022 4 1

Jun Bo-hee

Inserted 2 years ago

“You can't give up on China, because it remains the world's most lucrative market, despite its rapid slowdown in growth most recently. The pullout of factories and other drastic measures to cut reliance on China will therefore be unrealistic, and it is preferred to make adjustments on our investment infrastructure in China in accordance with the changing global business environment.”

Koreatimes

Senior researcher at the Korea International Trade Association (KITA)

31 Jan 2022 5 2

Shah Mehrabi

Inserted 2 years ago

“In a country already devastated by the twin crises of war and COVID-19, the desperate lack of dollars in the market is leaving importers unable to pay for their shipments. Food is becoming scarce and grocery stores are unable to fully restock. As prices rise, people are rushing to withdraw and spend their savings before the banking sector collapses. Private businesses are not able to fund operations, shutting down and laying off the privileged few who still have jobs. A growing number of Afghans are suffering from hunger, poverty, and a lack of access to basic goods and services. In short, the country is in a total humanitarian crisis.”

Aljazeera

Member of the Supreme Council of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, professor of Economics at Montgomery College and former advisor to the Afghan president

29 Jan 2022 8 3

Sandra Oudkirk

Inserted 2 years ago

“In 2020, Taiwan was [the US'] ninth-largest trading partner overall, and our seventh-largest consumer of agricultural goods. Only Canada and Mexico consume more on a per-capita basis of US goods, services and products than Taiwan does. Of course, whenever you have a close relationship, there will be obstacles, right? Nothing is ever perfect, but the obstacles that we have I would say are manageable. They're primarily technical in nature. We would love to see Taiwanese companies invest more in the United States. We would love to see and are ready to work on increasing Taiwanese consumers' confidence in American pork products. Now that we're through the referendum, there are a bunch of other issues related to technical certifications for various kinds of devices, but that's all stuff that we work on all the time.”

Taipeitimes

Director of the American Institute in Taiwan

26 Jan 2022 4 2

Ned Price

Inserted 2 years ago

“I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward. I'm not going to get into the specifics.”

Rferl

Spokesperson for the United States Department of State

26 Jan 2022 3 5

Rachel Rizzo

Inserted 2 years ago

“In the case of Germany, the new government has not come out as strongly as it should have in diffusing this crisis because of its economic linkages with Russia and energy dependency through the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. But this also makes Germany look weak.”

Aljazeera

Senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center

26 Jan 2022 3 4

Bruno Lété

Inserted 2 years ago

“Some EU nations have foreign policies which aim to appease Russia. Their aim is to break the Kremlin's autocratic relation with China and also improve their own economic ties with Russia. Countries in the EU's eastern bloc, who have experienced the Kremlin's threats in the past, have foreign policies which seek to respond to Russia through military solutions which display strength and power. So this creates a disagreement over responding to the crisis in Ukraine.”

Aljazeera

Senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) in Brussels

26 Jan 2022 4 2

Kiril Petkov

Inserted 2 years ago

“By signing these three memorandums on our very first meeting in Sofia, we give an example of a new approach, we deal with a new energy and bring real results. The end goal of these partnerships is the economic growth of the whole region. A growth that both the citizens of Bulgaria and North Macedonia will feel by having a better standard of living.”

Balkaninsight

Prime Minister of Bulgaria

25 Jan 2022 4 1

Ronald Smith

Inserted 2 years ago

“Germany has been resisting pressure from the US because it absolutely needs reliable gas supplies from Russia and, for all it is now one of the top exporters of liquified natural gas in the world, the US cannot replace Russia in that role as key gas supplier to Germany. Ukraine stands to lose several billion dollars per year in transit fees - which is what makes NS2 a cheaper option for shipment - a key stream of hard currency income for the country.”

Aljazeera

Senior oil and gas analyst at BCS Global Markets

25 Jan 2022 6 2

Dmitry Babin

Inserted 2 years ago

“The negative geopolitical situation - which is threatening to worsen - is exerting pressure on ruble assets. Only a reliable and steady improvement can prevent further weakening of the ruble.”

Themoscowtimes

BCS Investments analyst

24 Jan 2022 1 2

Shafiullah Azam

Inserted 2 years ago

“We are requesting them to unfreeze Afghan assets and not punish ordinary Afghans because of the political discourse. Because of the starvation, because of the deadly winter, I think it's time for the international community to support Afghans, not punish them because of their political disputes.”

Aljazeera

Taliban delegate

23 Jan 2022 4 2

Eric Gomez

Inserted 2 years ago

“North Korea went into a period of very intense economic self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent virus spread. This put the economy under significant strain, plus sanctions were in effect, yet North Korea did not come to the negotiating table, which damages the theory that sanctions will force North Korea to the negotiating table via economic pressure. At this point, the only real place sanctions could go next is secondary sanctions against entities outside of North Korea.”

Koreatimes

Director of defence policy studies at the Cato Institute

21 Jan 2022 5 3

Bruce Bennett

Inserted 2 years ago

“With North Korea, we have to remember that the most severe sanction that has been implemented was the closing of the North Korean border with China, something that Kim [Kim Jong-un] did to his country (rather than being a sanction imposed from outside).”

Koreatimes

Senior international defense analyst at the RAND Corporation

21 Jan 2022 4 2

Moon Jae-in

Inserted 2 years ago

“Egypt and Korea have been cooperating in economy, diplomacy, culture and various other fields. We, the leaders of the two countries, have recognized that the two countries' comprehensive cooperative partnership has brought reciprocal benefits to both countries and agreed to strengthen sustainable and future-oriented cooperation.”

Koreatimes

President of South Korea

20 Jan 2022 4 2

Nabil Ahmed

Inserted 2 years ago

“How we exit this global emergency is up to us. It could be more of the same: violent economies in which billionaire wealth booms, inequality is ever-deadlier and self-defeating greed reigns. Or, if we demand it, there could be profound change: economies centred on equality in which nobody lives in poverty, nor with unimaginable billionaire wealth, in which inequality no longer kills… in which hope reigns.”

Aljazeera

Head of Executive Strategy and Communications at Oxfam

19 Jan 2022 5 3

Moon Jae-in

Inserted 2 years ago

“Korea and member countries of the GCC have economic structures that complement each other, and they have achieved economic progress and prosperity through reciprocal partnerships. The cooperation between the two sides is now expanding to various fields including healthcare, science, technology, defense, info-tech and intellectual property. The partnership is now entering the next dimension.”

Koreatimes

President of South Korea

19 Jan 2022 6 2

Sima Baktas

Inserted 2 years ago

“It wasn't hard to adapt to the crypto sector, because we already had such big potential. After that, of course, came the Turkish lira, and the economic situation we have today, which is getting worse and worse, and people are trying to find a reliable financial instrument for their savings.”

Aljazeera

Lawyer specialising in cryptocurrencies and co-founder of CryptoWomen Turkey

17 Jan 2022 4 4

Turan Sert

Inserted 2 years ago

“In the past it was dollarization, meaning in order to avoid fluctuations in their currency people kept their assets in dollars. Now the recent trend is being called cryptolization.”

Aljazeera

Adviser for Paribu, Turkey’s largest online crypto exchange

17 Jan 2022 4 3

Ezra Klein

Inserted 2 years ago

“For decades, Democrats and Republican administrations alike believed the market would manage supply. We live in the wreckage of that worldview. But it held for so long that the U.S. government has lost both the muscle and the confidence needed to manage supply, at least when it comes to anything other than military spending. So Biden's task now is clear: to build a government that can create supply, not just demand.”

Nytimes

American journalist, political analyst, New York Times columnist, and the host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast

16 Jan 2022 5 3

Harro van Asselt

Inserted 2 years ago

“Fossil fuel subsidies lock in dependency on coal, oil and gas while at the same time hindering the competitiveness of renewables.”

Aljazeera

Professor of climate law and policy at the University of Eastern Finland

13 Jan 2022 5 2

Ahmed-Waleed Kakar

Inserted 2 years ago

“The main challenges for women are those reflected across the country at large - the financial and economic. Most Afghans live in rural areas where people depend on agriculture rather than formal employment to make a living. But now, they are struggling to get by and there's a massive surge in food insecurity. Women who were in the public sector, alongside the men, are receiving salaries irregularly, if at all.”

Aljazeera

Independent Afghan analyst

12 Jan 2022 9 2

Eloom Bibi

Inserted 2 years ago

“Charity from people helped me a lot. But now, there's nothing [coming in] and I understand why. People are jobless. There are thousands of widows in this country who used to work. Now that the Taliban has taken over the country, all women have been made to stay home. What can a woman do to support her family? Things were better before. My kids were going to school - girls and boys. We used to receive donations, and women were free.”

Aljazeera

Widowed mother of six from Shemol village on the outskirts of Jalalabad

12 Jan 2022 6 2

Kateryna Bornukova

Inserted 2 years ago

“The sanctions on potash are limited in scope to only about 20 percent of Belarusian potash exports, and many EU countries like Belgium want to see even those sanctions lifted. Those EU countries importing Belarusian potash (although in small amounts compared to world volumes where Belarus is among the largest players) are not ready to see even minimal profitability losses as they are forced to buy from more expensive suppliers.”

Rferl

Research fellow at the Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center

10 Jan 2022 2 4

Ipse Dixit

Ipse Dixit

“What we would like to hear is that the resolve and unity that we've seen for the past month will endure for as long as it takes.”

“An oil embargo is a decision that will hit everyone. Such an embargo will have a very serious impact on the world energy market, it will have a very serious negative impact on Europe's energy balance.”

“Looking at the extent of the destruction in Ukraine right now, it's very hard, in my view, to make the case that we shouldn't be moving into the [Russian] energy sector, particularly oil and coal.”

“I think it is unavoidable to start talking about the energy sector, and we definitely can talk about oil because it is the biggest revenue to Russian budget and also it's quite easily replaceable.”

“If we do not obtain more gas next winter and if deliveries from Russia were to be cut then we would not have enough gas to heat all our houses and keep all our industry going.”

“Russians have absolutely no need to run to the shops and buy-up buckwheat, sugar and toilet paper. The fuss around supplies in food stores is extremely emotional.”

“We see a reduction in total (Russian) exports of 2.5 million bpd, of which crude accounts for 1.5 million bpd and products 1 million bpd. These losses could deepen should bans or public censure accelerate.”

“The thing about defaults is that they are never clear-cut and this is no exception. There is a grace period, so we are not really going to know whether this is a default or not until April 15. Anything could happen in the grace period.”

“China is not a party to the crisis, still less wants to be affected by the sanctions. China rejects sanctions in principle and has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

“Western countries are trying to create a shortage of everyday imported goods in our country, forcing the closure of successfully operating foreign-owned businesses.”

“With regard to those who are going to close their production [in Russia], we need to act decisively here, in no cases allow any damage to local suppliers. It's necessary … to introduce external management and then transfer these enterprises to those who want to work.”

“We will not persuade anyone to buy our oil and gas. If they want to replace it with something, they are welcome, we will have supply markets, we already have them.”

“Today's sanctions show once again that oligarchs and kleptocrats have no place in our economy or society. With their close links to Putin they are complicit in his aggression. The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame.”

“Our economy is experiencing a shock impact now and there are negative consequences, they will be minimised. This is absolutely unprecedented. The economic war that has started against our country has never taken place before. So it is very hard to forecast anything.”

“We will come out of this crisis with refreshed views of the world - with no illusions about the West. We will try to never again be dependent on the West.”

“The US, undoubtedly, declared an economic war against Russia and they are waging this war. Yes, de facto this is exactly what it is.”

“It will get progressively harder for Russians to travel for two reasons. One is that Russian airspace is closed to Western aircraft. In addition, international travel becomes extremely difficult as support for Western-built airline aircraft in Russia is withdrawn.”

“Russia will be the world's largest country with a developed economy and an aviation industry no better than North Korea's. Aviation sanctions are easy to enforce. Airlines can't fly. They will have to completely redo their aircraft plans, which at the moment, are built on Western technology.”

“Although Russia's Pivot to the East has accelerated gas cooperation with China via gas infrastructure ... all these developments are still in their infancy compared to the mature markets in Europe.”

“If Russia gets to export a third less of their oil and if they have to take a discount on it but if oil prices are much higher they might actually net positive on oil side and similar on other commodities.”

“These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that.”

“If we were to end energy cooperation with Russia, the energy bills of every Hungarian family would triple in a single month.”

“If the US and EU freeze Russia's foreign reserves, it would reduce Russia's ability to interfere with the ruble's exchange rate through foreign reserves, and the ruble might face another drop.”

“EU sanctions would have a cost for Europe but we have to be ready to pay the price, or we will have to pay a much higher price in the future. The EU will provide intelligence to Ukraine about Russian troop movements and EU countries are determined to increase their military support to Kyiv.”

“New sanctions are designed to bog Russia down in the long-term but not to impose enough pain for Putin to pull out of Ukraine.”

“China doesn't want to get so involved that it ends up suffering as a result of its support for Russia. It all hinges on whether they're willing to risk their access to Western markets to help Russia, and I don't think they are. It's just not that big a market.”

“Japan must clearly show its position that we will never tolerate any attempt to change the status quo by force.”

“We are hitting Putin's system where it has to be hit, not only economically and financially, but also at the heart of its power. We are not just listing oligarchs … but we are now also listing the president, Mr Putin, and the foreign minister, Mr Lavrov.”

“We cannot give up on either of the countries. We have political, economic and military relations with Russia, and we also have political, economic and military relations with Ukraine.”

“We are constructing a package of concrete sanctions, which are to be much stronger than thos from 2014.”

“Debate over interest rates has subsided significantly and exchange rates stabilized. Now it's time to pull inflation back to single digits.”

“If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward and Russia understands that we [have] co-ordinated with our allies.”

“We have intensified negotiations with our Turkish partners to ensure that the (free trade) agreement meets the interests of Ukrainian business, creates opportunities for our exports and the potential for modernisation of Ukrainian enterprises.”

“I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward. I'm not going to get into the specifics.”

“In the case of Germany, the new government has not come out as strongly as it should have in diffusing this crisis because of its economic linkages with Russia and energy dependency through the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. But this also makes Germany look weak.”

“The negative geopolitical situation - which is threatening to worsen - is exerting pressure on ruble assets. Only a reliable and steady improvement can prevent further weakening of the ruble.”

“With North Korea, we have to remember that the most severe sanction that has been implemented was the closing of the North Korean border with China, something that Kim [Kim Jong-un] did to his country (rather than being a sanction imposed from outside).”

“It wasn't hard to adapt to the crypto sector, because we already had such big potential. After that, of course, came the Turkish lira, and the economic situation we have today, which is getting worse and worse, and people are trying to find a reliable financial instrument for their savings.”

“In the past it was dollarization, meaning in order to avoid fluctuations in their currency people kept their assets in dollars. Now the recent trend is being called cryptolization.”

“Fossil fuel subsidies lock in dependency on coal, oil and gas while at the same time hindering the competitiveness of renewables.”

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