Thread. Biden threatened Putin with cutting Russia off from the global electronic-payment-messaging system known as SWIFT if fears is a new Kremlin plan to invade Ukraine.
But I do not think Putin is scared of this scenario. And here's why:
Yes, SWIFT can do a lot of damage to Russia since the country is deeply integrated into the global financial community.
However, the Kremlin is going push SPFS internationally as a possible solution for cross-border transactions.
China, whose economy is far larger than Russia's, is also developing an alternative to SWIFT over potential American sanctions.
In 2015, China launched the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to help internationalize use of the Chinese currency, the yuan.
Some Chinese officials have called for using CIPS instead of SWIFT to protect the country's banks from threats of a cutoff so SWIFT scenario is not that scary for Russia as Western media loves to show-off.
If the US cuts SWIFT off from the Russian banking system without doing anything else, all Americans doing essentially is forcing it to use SWIFT competitors.
Since 2014, Putin has kept a tight lid on spending, even posting budget surpluses, a rarity in Western countries.
Russia has also built up its foreign-currency and gold reserves, which exceed $620 billion, putting it neck-and-neck with India for fourth-highest in the world.
That amount includes the nearly $200 billion in the "rainy day" National Wealth Fund.
So Putin is well prepared.
Barring any sanctions, Russia's reserves could grow another $20 billion next year.
Also expect 'Fortress Russia' strategy from Putin, and he is sticking to it because it has worked well for the Kremlin.
As a result, if this is Biden's biggest trump card against Russia, Ukraine is in deep trouble.
We've already seen American exodus from Afghanistan, if the US fails on Ukraine, then US allies like Japan and South Korea is going to change its strategies.
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Finnish photography and video artist Elina Brotherus was born in 1972 in Helsinki.
Her early work dealt with personal yet universal experiences, the presence and absence of love.
In her series The New Painting (2000-2005), Brotherus probed the relation of photography to art history and found inspiration in the iconography of classical painting.
"As I mentioned earlier I had engaged myself a lot with the ‘instruction art’ of the 1960s and 1970s. When I discovered Erwin Wurm’s One Minute Sculptures they fascinated me in similar ways."
Thread. 2022 will be a huge year in Russian foreign policy.
China and Russia have strengthened their political, economic and military relations in 2021 and they will be bolstering this partnership even more this year.
Moscow looks to Beijing for support of its goal in occupying parts of Ukraine, as well as a conduit to show Moscow can still play a role in Asia.
Meanwhile, Beijing needs Russian weapons, energy and support against Western pressure.
Expect typical old-fashioned balance of power
In Syria, Russia often uses its air superiority in Idlib as leverage against Turkey by targeting refugee camps and creating a new mass migration wave toward the country.
The Kremlin’s sabre-rattling in Ukraine has reignited the debate in Finland as to whether the Nordic country should join NATO, defying demands from Moscow that seek to limit expansion of the military alliance in Europe.
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin's (SDP) New Year's message emphasised Finland's possibility to apply for membership in NATO:
"Finland retains the option of applying for NATO membership," Marin said as Russia has demanded the western alliance halt its eastward expansion.
Finland and neighbouring Sweden are both militarily non-aligned but have a growing co-operation with NATO as well as strong bilateral relationships with members of the alliance such as the US, Norway and UK.
Big uproar in Azerbaijani social media after Major General Polad Hashimov's mother (pictured) made serious allegations about lieutenant general Karim Valiyev.
In 20202, very respected Major General Polad Hashimov, along with Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev, were killed.
On social media, many Azerbaijanis still accuse Najmaddin Sadikov of giving their coordinates to Armenia, which also led to Hashimov's death.
Sadikov had been Azerbaijan’s top military officer since 1993, the chief of general staff of the armed forces & a deputy defense minister
Even today Azerbaijani social media is dominated by discussion of Polad Hashimov’s death, with many expressing indignation that such a high-ranking official could be killed in battle and complaining that it was the result of poor leadership.