A rally in support of Russia was held in the Martyrs’ Park in New Delhi.
Several dozen people expressed their disagreement with the anti-Russian sanctions and condemned the opponents of Russian culture, TASS reports.
The participants came out with the slogan “Long live Russia!”, “We love Russia!”, “India and Russia are brothers!”.
The head of the International Federation of Indo-Russian Youth Clubs and the BRICS International Forum, Purnima Anand, was one of the organizers of the rally and stressed that sanctions affect not only Russia but other countries as well. She added that “everything must be done to maintain a truly healthy friendship between Russia and India, which have always been together for the past 75 years.”
At the end of the rally, participants marched with a five-meter Russian flag.
Turkey threatens Russia
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today that Turkey will have to impose sanctions on Russia if they are approved by the UN, Turkish media reported.
Turkey adheres to international law, we will pursue a balanced policy. If the UN approves sanctions against Russia, Turkey will be “forced” to apply those sanctions, Cavusoglu said in an interview with Turkish private television NTV.
He said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon. Yes, there are such plans, Cavusoglu said in response to a question about whether such contacts are planned soon. According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ankara and Moscow continue to maintain close contact.
I also plan to hold talks with my Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, and the two countries’ defense ministers are also in contact, Cavusoglu said. He said Turkey views Russia-Ukraine talks without undue optimism or pessimism, assesses the current course of talks, and seeks to adhere to realistic positions.
Recently, after the events in Bucha, the parties have made many statements condemning each other. We are approaching the current course of the talks with neither optimism nor pessimism, the Turkish foreign minister said, adding that “a ceasefire is possible”, CNN-Turk television reported. He added that Turkey is fully implementing the provisions of the Montreux Convention because of the situation in Ukraine, but it does not allow for the closure of airspace for civil aviation.
Chinese credit cards cannot replace Western ones
Since the beginning of March, Russians have not been able to shop with credit cards from Western companies such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. This makes it difficult to purchase various products and services both abroad and online. That is why many Russian citizens use the credit cards of the Chinese company UnionPay. China does not condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine and does not join Western economic sanctions.
But according to DPA, Chinese cards cannot completely replace the services offered by Western companies. According to the Russian daily Kommersant, foreign platforms are blocking all payments coming from Russia, including those made with UnionPay.
According to the newspaper, there are about 500,000 UnionPay credit cards in Russia. Within a month, ie. since the introduction of Western sanctions, their number has increased tenfold. Most of these cards are only virtual and are intended to be used for online shopping and commerce. But this is not happening because of the restrictions imposed by Western companies.
UnionPay can solve the problem, but does not want to?
In theory, UnionPay could solve the problem, the publication said. But the Chinese company has so far made no effort to do so, the publication said. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West imposed sanctions on the financial sector, among other restrictions. Many financial institutions have been excluded from the Swift banking communications network. The world’s largest credit card operators Visa and Mastercard have stopped their business in Russia.
As of March 10, cards issued in Russia are not accepted abroad, and foreign Visa and Mastercard do not work in Russia itself. The Moscow government has promised Russia’s Mir system and UnionPay cards to replace Western companies. “With this card (UnionPay) payments can be made in 180 countries,” Russia’s Alfa Bank said in March.
