Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that Britain and its western partners will boost economic pressure on Russia by looking into whether more can be done to prevent President Vladimir Putin from accessing gold reserves.
Western sanctions have blocked much of the $640 billion in assets held by Russia’s central bank, prevented many banks from using the global payments system SWIFT, and weakened the rouble.
Johnson told LBC Radio ahead of a NATO conference in Brussels that Putin has already crossed a red line and should appear before the International Criminal Court.
He stated, “We need to do more.” “As a result, we must accomplish more economically.” Can we do more to prevent him from using his gold reserves in addition to his cash reserves, for example?
“I feel that the more pressure we place now, especially on items like gold, the more we can shorten the war.”
Johnson went on to claim that US President Joe Biden was correct in accusing Russia of war crimes.
“It is proper that Russia is brought before the International Court of Justice, and that President Putin is brought before the International Criminal Court; there is no doubt that they are committing war crimes.”
