British Prime Minister David Cameron in an interview today with the U.K.'s Sky television in Brisbane, Australia, about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit:
"I don't call it a Cold War, but obviously it won't be in anybody's interest for this to happen and, I would argue, least of all [in] Russia['s interest]. Russia needs to have its engagement with Europe, with Britain, with America for the sake of its economy and its people and I thin they are taking the wrong course."
"I want to try and have a relationship with this president where I can put on the table very robustly what I think needs to happen in order for there to be a better relationship between Britain and Russia, Europe and Russia, and all the rest of it. But I'm very frank when I meet with him that the things that Russia has done in Ukraine are unacceptable and if they continue in this direction, I think, there'll be further consequences."
Interfax reports that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree yesterday asking the legislature to repeal legislation passed pursuant to the Minsk Protocol that grants elements of "self-government" to parts of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Some interesting comments from the CEO of Russia's second-largest bank, VTB Group, Andrei Kostin, in an interview with CNN's Richard Quest on the effect of the U.S. and EU sanctions:
"It does harm us, but at the moment we can cope with the help of the Russian Central Bank, which provides additional refinancing for Russian banks, including VTB, and also Russian government [represented by] the Russian treasury that also provides additional funding."
"We did not invent these sanctions, we did not introduce these sanctions. We are the hostage of, we believe, a geopolitical situation. As any hostage we can't influence the situation very much. We are going to be either killed, or paid out, or something should happen. But, I am afraid, we have to adjust to the situation now and try to continue our business."
"The UK listing authorities will do it for us for free" -- a reference to de-listing VTB from the London Stock Exchange -- "because they went beyond the sanctions -- beyond what the U.S. or [European authorities] are saying. They are forbidding to swap Russian stocks into ADR [American depository receipts] in London, and it means that sooner or later there will be no ADRs at the London Stock Exchange, and, of course, it's created a problem for our investors."
Interfax flashes:
RUSSIA'S PUTIN SAYS THAT RUSSIA WON'T DEMAND EARLY REPAYMENT OF $3 BLN LENT TO UKRAINE
Meanwhile, with criticism raining down on Russia's president in Brisbane, Interfax opts for this headline:
Pictures taken of Putin, Abbott holding koalas - spokesman
Here's our latest update on events in Brisbane:
Russian 'Aggression' In Ukraine Takes Center Stage At G20
