Russia and Ukraine: US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury chooses major international companies between Russia and the West

Sanctions imposed by Western countries have made it impossible for some companies to invest in Russia, while many companies have left the Russian market for ethical reasons.

But several large companies, such as Marks & Spencer and Burger King, still have businesses in Russia that they cannot leave due to their commitment to franchising.

Adeemo, who leads sanctions coordination efforts in the Biden administration, spoke to the BBC as he was on his way to Europe to coordinate the next phase of sanctions against Russia.

When asked about Chinese and Indian companies filling the void left by Western companies in Russia, Adeemo said that the United States is considering “taking action against” anyone who helps Moscow evade sanctions.

“It’s up to these countries, these companies, these individuals have to choose… They can choose between assisting Russia in its illegal invasion of Ukraine, or continuing to invest in the 30 countries that have taken action against Russia,” the US official said.

The US official said that it was clear that the US dollar, the euro, and the British pound represented the backbone of the global financial system, and everyone who wanted to deal in these currencies had to “participate in our sanctions.”

The day after the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian ruble recorded record lows, but it rebounded again. Unprecedented sanctions against the Central Bank of Russia contributed to this record depreciation of the ruble. But inflows of euros and pounds sterling to finance purchases of Russian oil and gas contributed to the recovery of the ruble.

Russia is the largest oil-exporting trading partner of the European Union, as well as one of the world’s largest oil exporters.

Although the United States and Canada have banned imports of Russian oil, countries in the European Union still import Russian oil due to their heavy dependence on it. The United Kingdom announced that it plans to dispense with Russian oil by the end of this year.

But Adeemo said that the money that “the Russians take today are no longer used to fill the war fund… they are using it to buy rubles to support their country’s economy.”

Adeemo noted that the Russian government has ordered exporters to convert any foreign currency they collect into rubles to support the country’s economy.

“They can’t use this money for the war effort,” the US official said. “So our goal is to force the Kremlin to choose between supporting the local economy and meeting local needs or supporting the war effort.”

Adeemo stressed that stopping the war was the goal behind Western sanctions, and that “regime change” is not among the directions of US policy, whether in Russia or anywhere else.