BRICS States Creating SWIFT-like System and Ratings Agency to Counter US

Ukraine-related Western sanctions are pushing BRICS countries into closer economic cooperation at an accelerated pace, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Saturday during the first meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRICS countries, chaired by China.

According to the finance minister, the “current crisis is man-made,” and the BRICS member states – Russia, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa – “have all the necessary tools to mitigate its consequences for their respective economies and the global economy on a broader scale.”

Siluanov says the current US dollar-based international financial system should be reformed to ensure “independence and continuity of economic processes.”

“The situation in the global economy has deteriorated significantly as a result of the sanctions. Bans on settlements, disruption of production and supply chains, export controls and import bans – all of these restrictions hit the global economy.”

In order to prevent economies from plunging into crisis, BRICS countries are working to reform their financial interaction, for instance, by creating a BRICS-based interbank messaging system, an analogue of SWIFT, which Russia was cut off from last month as part of EU sanctions, and other measures.

“This pushes us to the need to speed up work in the following areas: The use of national currencies for export-import transactions, the integration of payment systems and cards, our own financial messaging system and the creation of an independent BRICS rating agency,” Siluanov said.

The prospect of creating a BRICS-focused rating agency, for instance, is a highly positive idea, analysts say, as major ratings agencies Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P recently removed their Russia ratings due to sanctions pressure, which makes it difficult for Moscow to secure foreign investment.

During their meeting, representatives of the BRICS countries also discussed cooperation through the New Development Bank, investment in infrastructure, and the creation of a BRICS research network. The central banks of the nations agreed to conduct a new test of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Pool mechanism, which allows member states to swap national currencies in times of need. 

 Anonymous

US Pushed UN Resolution to Suspend Russia With Partial Facts - This is so shameful, a kangaroo court in the UN

Double standards - countries had not driven the US out of the UN human rights body when it bombed civilians in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan

After the vote pushed by the US at the UN General Assembly decided to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, some member states expressed opposition to the hasty move which forced countries to take sides before knowing the full story.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday calling for Russia to be suspended from the Human Rights Council. In the 193-member Assembly, 93 countries voted in favor, 24 against, and 58 abstained. Russia, China, Iran and Vietnam were among those who voted against. Those who abstained include India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Pakistan and Singapore.

The vote sets a dangerous precedent on that a resolution without solid investigation can be brought to the UN where member states are then abducted by political ideology and forced to choose sides.

According to the UN release, the resolution was brought to the Assembly after a flurry of disturbing photos of the "Bucha incident." Ukraine accused Russian military forces of killing a large number of civilians during the occupation of the city of Bucha, located in the western suburbs of Kiev. Russia categorically denied it and presented the UN Security Council with empirical evidence of the Ukrainian side's video falsification and other fakes.

After the UN posted the tally on its Twitter account, it's noted that even under great pressure from the US and the West, the total number of those who voted against and abstained was still close to those who voted in favor. The accusations against Russia on the "Bucha incident" have yet to be proved, while the irrefutable atrocities conducted by Ukraine forces against Russian POWs were caught on camera.

The UN's role to unite the world is on the ebb as it was silent on the US-led chaos in Libya, Tunisia, Iran, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. The West's hurriedly subscription to the US-pushed resolution against Russia at the UN denies rules-based international values. 

 

 Anonymous

Avatar Collection - Portraits of Women in NFTs.

 

I have renamed the Portraits of Women series as The Avatar Collection. The meaning of Avatar according to Dictionary.com is 'the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god.' In the above painting the skin texture of the woman looks a bit like the Navi beings in the Avatar movie.

This is the most beautiful NFT collection ever created so far...by Mother Nature. The curvaceous feminine forms of the portraits are so beautiful and pleasant to the human eyes. The lines are inexplicable and beyond the hands of human artists. Viewers have the privilege to exercise their imagination on the faces of these female avatars. 

Mother Nature is the master painter. Seeing is believing. The wonders of Nature. 

I have created more than 400 NFTs for this collection and with a target of 1,000 NFTs.

The Collection can be viewed at https://opensea.io/collection/rarart-portraits-of-women

Russian Energy Paid For in Renminbi is Heading to China

 Coal cargoes will arrive this month, followed by crude oil in May

Russian coal and oil paid for in yuan is about to start flowing into China, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

According to the media outlet, citing Chinese consultancy Fenwei Energy Information Service, several Chinese firms used local currency to buy Russian coal in March, and the first cargoes will arrive this month.

These will be the first commodity shipments paid for in yuan since the United States and Europe hit Moscow with unprecedented sanctions, cutting several Russian banks off from the international financial system.

Traders said that Russian crude sellers have also offered Chinese buyers the flexibility to pay in yuan. The first cargoes of the ESPO grade bought with Chinese currency will be delivered to independent refiners in May, people familiar with the purchases told Bloomberg.

According Fenwei, both steel-making and power-plant coal are being paid for in renminbi. These deals are traditionally made in dollars, but many Chinese buyers temporarily halted purchases after Washington and its allies cut off Russian lenders from SWIFT.

Data shows that Russia was China’s second-largest coal supplier last year. Nearly half of the imports from Russia are metallurgical coal.

Chinese buyers are interested in importing more Russian supplies. However, logistics and financing barriers could ultimately cap the flows, the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association said last month.

[ RT - You can share this story on social media ]

 

Anonymous

Many Non-Western Countries Find Arrogant US Repugnant

The US warned India once again. Brian Deese, White House top economic adviser, claimed on Wednesday that the consequences of New Delhi's "more explicit strategic alignment" with Moscow would be "significant and long-term."

What a bullying manner! This is an open threat by the US toward India on the latter's own business. When it comes to the Ukraine crisis, the US is blatantly displaying its hegemonic mentality - either you are with the US, or against the US. This echoes exactly the same slogan of George W. Bush, made in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Even if India has not "aligned" with Russia, and has kept a relatively balanced position during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US does not buy it. Remaining neutral makes no sense to the US. What Washington wants from New Delhi is completely standing by the US side.

The US is afraid that ties among China, Russia and India may further develop due to the Ukraine crisis, although systematic cooperation of the three countries is not rare.

Moreover, the US expects that everything goes well in terms of the Quad summit, which is scheduled to be held in Japan, tentatively by the end of June. Yet, if India does not make a statement in line with the US expectation, the summit may hardly take place. Constant warnings over "consequences" against India emerged from the US, revealing Washington's anxiety.

Before Deese's remarks, the US has already warned India more than once against constructing alternate payment mechanisms with Russia or buying more oil from Russia. Yet the threats turned out to be in vain, as India benefits from its ties with Russia, which can't be substituted by the US.

Also, India's response mirrors an increasingly obvious trend - the US has underestimated the antipathy the rest of the world holds for it. Not only India, but the majority of the general public in China and Latin American countries and other developing world have not taken sides with the US in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, even if the US believes it is standing on the moral high ground. They do not support sanctioning Russia.

Quite a few countries have long been bullied by the US. They have long developed a rebellious psychology. This time, the more sanctions Washington imposes on Russia due to the conflict, the more aversion the US will have to face.

The US has long believed it masters superior strength, values, and civilization, which in turn has given birth to its overbearing arrogance. As a result, when interacting with non-Western countries, the US either coerces them or issues warnings to them. Since Washington is used to dealing with others from a position of strength, its relations with other countries have never been on an equal footing.

That's why the world has been witnessing the US talking about the so-called democracy while it makes dictatorial orders toward other countries.

The resentment from non-Western countries toward such hegemonic arrogance has long been lurking. It is now surfacing during the ongoing Ukraine crisis, along with the real status of the US in international society - It has imposed sanctions on Russia yet has failed to reach expected effects; It claims to be on the justified side, but most countries believe it is the US-led NATO that has turned Ukraine into a pawn, threw it under the bus, and worse, attempted to prolong the war; It pushed India, one of its closest partners, to take sides, but only gained India's cold shoulder.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, Indian people seem to have been fed up with the US putting pressure on or threatening India. Many of them asked: What kind of a partner is this? New Delhi's current balanced diplomacy is thus warmly welcomed by the Indian public. This is a sign of their repugnance toward Washington.

Today, the US would be self-defeating if it stubbornly believes that whoever it cozies up to would feel honored and dance to its tune. Gone is the time when US warnings work. 

 

 Anonymous