Kremlin warns of 'double-edged sword' from sanctions on Russian metals

Business & Economy April 15, 13:38

"We see that a certain destabilization of prices has occurred on the market in this segment, we will see what is going to happen next and how," Dmitry Peskov noted

MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. The latest sanctions from the US and UK on Russian aluminum, copper and nickel are a "double-edged sword" and will come back to bite those who imposed them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We take them the same way as all other sanctions - we consider them absolutely illegal. And we believe that these sanctions in any case are a double-edged sword. They will hurt the interests of those who imposed them exactly the same way," he said.

"We see that a certain destabilization of prices has occurred on the market in this segment, we will see what is going to happen next and how," he added.

On April 12, the UK and US extended sanctions against Russia in trade of metals, banning the London Metal Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange from replenishing their warehouses with aluminum, copper and nickel using supplies from Russia. In a joint statement, London and Washington noted that the new restrictions do not apply to the existing reserves of Russian metals in the warehouses of both exchanges and they are still allowed to carry out trading operations with them. However, both sites will no longer be able to purchase Russian copper, aluminum and nickel.

Last December, the UK completely banned the import of copper, aluminum and nickel coming from Russia. In the United States, a similar ban is starting to take effect now, but does not apply to metals mined before April 13, 2024.

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