SANCIONES Y SOBERANÍA (SANCTIONS AND SOVEREINGTY, SERGEY GLAZIEV)

The EU's total losses from anti-Russian sanctions are estimated at $ 250 billion. I remember how ten years ago, when discussing the risks to the Russian banking system at the National Banking Council, I asked the then head of the Central Bank: "Is the risk of disconnecting Russian banks from the international system of transmitting bank messages SWIFT considered, as Western partners did in relation to Iran?" To which I received an answer: "We cannot consider the risk of an atomic bomb hitting the Bank of Russia." Measures, however, the Central Bank's management has taken — today Russia has its own system for transmitting electronic messages between banks — the Bank of Russia's Financial Message Transmission System (SPFS), as well as its own Mir bank card payment system, which is interfaced with the Chinese Union Pay system and can be used for cross-border payments and transfers. Both of them are open to foreign partners and are already widely used not only in domestic, but also in international settlements. Disabling SWIFT is no longer considered a large — scale threat-it will benefit the development of our payment and financial information systems. Assessing the consequences of anti-Russian sanctions, one cannot ignore the consequences of severing economic ties with Ukraine. The mutual cancellation of the free trade regime and the introduction of an embargo on a wide range of goods led to a break in cooperation ties that ensured the reproduction of many types of high-tech products. Blocking the work of Russian banks resulted in the depreciation of multibillion-dollar Russian investments. The refusal of the Ukrainian authorities to service their debt to Russia caused several billion dollars more losses. In total, their volume is estimated at about $ 100 billion for each of the parties. This is really significant and in many ways irreparable real damage, which we ourselves have aggravated with retaliatory sanctions.