actions that would figure into president putin s calculus. let s talk this through. a very warm welcome to the programme. we are hearing there from anthony lincoln, you know, not to impose sanctions right now, ukraine is calling from that, your thoughts on what the next move should be? antony blinken. move should be? antony blinken- blinken. antony blinken is absolutely blinken. antony blinken is absolutely right, - blinken. antony blinken is absolutely right, it - blinken. antony blinken is absolutely right, it would l blinken. antony blinken is l absolutely right, it would be ridiculous to impose sanctions now, because then the west has shot its bolt. you have to impose sanctions in response to something russia actually does. but also leads towards what is called the nuclear option, cutting russia off from the swift payment system in response to what could initially be a minor russian incursion, as the us congress is proposing. but also means expending all of our ammunition i
this is bbc news, with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. america s top diplomat says it s too soon to impose sanctions against russia, but warns of a significant response if moscow invades ukraine. get the jab or lose yourjob we hear from us workers who ve opted to lose theirjobs rather than get the covid 19 vaccine. and france bans the unvaccinated from visiting bars and restaurants and even using intercity trains, but the move has divided the country. and we keep being told it s the next big thing, but what exactly is the metaverse? we look at how it could change everything from the way we work to how we socialise.
there could also be measures targeting russia s sovereign wealth fund or restrictions on banks converting roubles into foreign currency which would hurt the country s ability to operate in financial markets. speaking to american television, the us secretary of state, antony blinken said imposing sanctions now would undercut the west s negotiating position. the most important thing we can do is to use them as a deterrent, as a means of dissuading russia from engaging in further aggression. dissuading russia from engaging infurtheraggression. 0nce in further aggression. 0nce sanctions infurtheraggression. 0nce sanctions are triggered, you lose the deterrent effect. so what we are doing is putting together a whole series of
more now on our top story, and america s top diplomat has warned against imposing sanctions against russia too early, over its threats towards ukraine. the ukrainian president has called for sanctions to be imposed now, but the us secretary of state said that could have a detrimental effect. russia denies it s planning any invasion, but it has seized ukrainian territory before and it has an estimated 100,000 troops deployed near its borders. president biden has threatened russia s leader with measures like none he s ever seen if ukraine is attacked. so what would they involve? the ultimate economic hit would be to disconnect russia s banking system from the international swift payment system, effectively cuting the country off from the global economy. another key threat is to prevent the opening of russia s nord stream 2 gas pipeline in germany, and approval for that is currently being decided by germany s energy regulator.
question is whether a good many european countries can afford this nuclear option of cutting russia off from swift at all. because it would mean they couldn t pay for russian gas, and then of course russia would not supply the gas, and then europe would be in, not a fatal energy crisis, but certainly a very major energy crisis. very ma or energy crisis. some miaht very major energy crisis. some might argue very major energy crisis. some might argue that very major energy crisis. some might argue that europe - very major energy crisis. some might argue that europe is - might argue that europe is already grappling with its energy crisis, in the uk we have seen many companies go bust because of soaring gas prices. to what extent does that play a part in all of this, with the politics in regards to ukraine and russia? because many would argue russia has been able to hold europe to ransom. ~ , , ., ., ransom. well, yes. to a degree. but then again, ransom. well, yes. to a degree. but