Home ›› 14 Mar 2022 ›› Front
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday that Russia might use chemical weapons following its invasion of Ukraine and that such a move would be a war crime, according to an interview in German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
“In recent days, we have heard absurd claims about chemical and biological weapons laboratories,” Stoltenberg was quoted by Welt am Sonntag as saying, adding that the Kremlin was inventing false pretexts to justify what could not be justified.
“Now that these false claims have been made, we must remain vigilant because it is possible that Russia itself could plan chemical weapons operations under this fabrication of lies. That would be a war crime,” Stoltenberg was quoted as saying.
He added that although the Ukrainian people were resisting the Russian invasion with courage, the coming days are likely to bring even greater hardship.
Meanwhile, Russia said on Sunday that it was counting on China to help it withstand the blow to its economy from Western sanctions, which it said had frozen nearly half of its gold and foreign currency reserves.
“We have part of our gold and foreign exchange reserves in the Chinese currency, in yuan. And we see what pressure is being exerted by Western countries on China in order to limit mutual trade with China. Of course, there is pressure to limit access to those reserves,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
“But I think that our partnership with China will still allow us to maintain the cooperation that we have achieved, and not only maintain, but also increase it in an environment where Western markets are closing.”
Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s corporate and financial system since it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it calls a special military operation.
Siluanov’s comments in a TV interview marked the clearest statement yet from Moscow that it will seek help from China to cushion the impact.
The two countries have tightened cooperation in recent times as both have come under strong Western pressure over human rights and a raft of other issues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing on Feb. 4 and announced a strategic partnership they said was aimed at countering the influence of the United States, describing it as a friendship with no limits.
The sanctions on Russian reserves have become one of the most painful measures for the Russian economy.
A month ago, Siluanov said Russia would be able to withstand sanctions thanks to abundant reserves and was even considering offering Eurobonds to foreign investors once the market volatility subsides.
On Sunday he said the sanctions had frozen around $300 billion out of $640 billion that Russia had in its gold and forex reserves.
Siluanov also said Russia will fulfil its state debt obligations and will pay roubles to its debt holders until the state reserves are unfrozen.
