Russian Central Bank building in MoscowWASHINGTON, Feb 27Western countries are still working on the «modality» of sanctions against the Russian Central Bank in search of the most effective ways to deprive it of the ability to use gold and foreign exchange reserves to support the ruble, said a senior official in the US administration. that the Russian Central Bank is allowed to hold, as well as the assets that they have,» he said during a telephone briefing. The official recalled that the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has $ 630 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves, which can theoretically be sold to support the ruble. «What this measure does is prevent Russia from interacting with Western banks, American banks, European, British, without which interventions in the foreign exchange markets are impossible. It must buy the ruble and sell gold and foreign exchange reserves to support its currency,» he explained. The President Russian Vladim On February 21, President Putin signed decrees recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and on February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. In response, Western countries began a new round of the sanctions spiral, which has been unwinding since 2014. Several of the largest banks in the Russian Federation, including Sberbank and VTB, fell under the new restrictions. A number of state-owned companies found it difficult to attract foreign capital. Sanctions have been imposed on the supply of high-tech products to Russia. Germany has stopped certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Great Britain has closed flights for Aeroflot. Also in the US and the EU, statements are periodically heard that one of the options for sanctions could be to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT international system of interbank transfers, but there is no unity on this issue in the West. There were no restrictions on Russian energy exports either. The Russian authorities said they had prepared a plan of action in advance in case of a new wave of sanctions and would provide any necessary support to businesses that fell under the restrictions, ensuring the smooth operation of the economy. The Russian authorities are also working on retaliatory measures, but the details are not yet known. Retaliation measures taken to date include a ban on overflights by British airlines over Russia. Maxim Gorbachev
