GERMANY
Robert Habeck – Economy Minister
Germany will not raise the alert level despite losing around 10 million cubic meters of gas daily after Russia’s decision to halt gas supplies to the country, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck noted during a press conference on Thursday. The minister described the situation as “manageable” since this is a “compensable” amount of energy that can be supplied from other sources.
RUSSIA
Vladimir Putin – President
Speaking in a televised address on economic issues on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West is sacrificing peace and creating crises in order to achieve world dominance. He also added that the sanctions the West imposed on Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine will have consequences on a global scale. “Their authors, guided by short-sighted, inflated political ambitions, Russophobia, hit their own national interests o a greater extent, their own economies, the well-being of their citizens,” the Russian head of state noted.
ASEAN
Asian finance ministers and central bank governors of Japan, China, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Thursday warned on rate hike risk to the region.
In addition to the war in Ukraine, rising food and energy price hikes “may pose downside risks to the outlook for the region’s trade and investment, growth, and inflation,” the finance leaders said. They also cited the “sharper-than-expected monetary policy normalization in some major advanced economies.”
