ELMAU, Germany (AP) – U.S. President Joe Biden says that the United States and other Group of Seven leading economies intend to announce a ban on imports of gold from Russia.
They hope that measure will further isolate Russia economically over its invasion of Ukraine.
Biden announced the step Sunday at the start of the G-7 annual summit, which this year is being held in Germany.
Senior Biden administration officials said gold is Moscow’s second largest export after energy, and that banning imports would make it more difficult for Russia to participate in global markets.
Biden’s Twitter feed said Russia “rakes in tens of billions of dollars” from the sale of its gold, its second largest export after energy.
Britain says gold exports were worth about $15.5 billion to the Russian economy in 2021 and that gold’s value for the Russian elite has increased since the war began, as wealthy Russians seek to skirt Western sanctions.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says a ban by G-7 countries on Russian gold will “directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine.”
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