LOS ANGELES.–Russian President Vladimir Putin, 71, served notice to Western adversaries that he would arm allies with missiles if 81-year-old Joe Biden goes ahead, giving Kiev the green light to use U.S. weapons to strike targets inside Russia. Biden has restricted the use of U.S. and NATO weapons supplied to Ukraine to the war zone inside Ukrainian territory. Biden recently told Ukraine’s 46-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky that he can use U.S. weapons to attack targets inside Russia to defend Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Reports of Russian forces making its way toward Kharkiv prompted Zelensky to ask Biden if he could use medium and long-range missiles to hit targets in the Russian Federation. Biden told reports in France for an 80th D-Day commemoration that Zelensky was no at liberty to strike targets inside Russia, as long it was close to the Ukrainian border.
Putin left no doubt that he would respond in kind, potentially striking countries inside the Western Alliance. “If they supply [weapons] to the combat zone and call for using these weapons against our territory, why don’t we have the right to do the same?” Putin asked, recognizing the escalation in the Ukraine War. “But I’m not ready to say that we will be doing it tomorrow, either,” Putin said, concerned that it would affect global stability. When Putin invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022, Biden thought he could contain Russia with draconic economic sanctions, including a Russian oil boycott. Putin once supplied about 25% of Europe’s petroleum and natural gas. After the sanctions, Europe reduced it purchases of Russian petroleum and natural gas to practically zero. Putin more than made up the difference by supplying China and India with oil and natural gas.
Since the Ukraine War bottomed out into a stalemate or frozen war, Putin found plenty of ways to make up the lost oil and gas revenue from Europe. Putin found ways to circumvent Biden’s economic sanctions designed to drive Russia out of Ukraine. Putin supplies oil and gas to the BRICS bloc of economic power, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, all of which are strong trading partners with the Kremlin. Biden hoped he had the world backing for Ukraine’s democracy and independence. But Biden quickly found out that Russia has its own economic partners around the globe, not just Europe. Biden’s Russian oil boycott backfired on the U.S. fueling the worst inflation in 40 years. White House officials deny that the Ukraine War and Russian oil embargo continues to fan inflation, still high enough that the Federal Reserve Board refuses to cut interest rates.
Europe’s Frankfurt-based European Central Bank ]ECB] cut its MRO rate to 3.75% or rate banks pay for cash borrowed from the ECB. U.S. Federal Funds Rates stands today at 5.25% to 5.5%, much higher than the MRO rate. Banks and consumers hoped that the Federal Reserve Board would slash the Federal Funds Rate but the Fed cannot get the inflation down to its 2% target. Persistent spending on Ukraine and the Russian oil embargo keeps pump prices and transportation costs too high. White House officials refuse to admit that the Ukraine War and Russian oil embargo continue to fuel inflation, preventing the Fed from cutting rates. May’s jobs report came in to strong, adding 272,000 jobs, well above expectations. Keeping rates high is the Feds only way to reduce jobs growth. If Biden ended the Ukraine War and Russian oil embargo, the Fed would cut rates.
U.S. voters put the border and inflation as the top priority, not war and peace issues from the Ukraine War. But when you look at the biggest drag to the U.S. economy, it’s the high cost of oil and gas shortages, leading to high pump prices and transportation costs. Unless Biden ends the Ukraine War and Russian oil embargo, American consumers could wait a long time before another Fed rate cut. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Fed can’t control geopolitical crises like the Ukraine War. If Biden moved the Ukraine War from the battlefield to the peace table, it would reduce inflation by dropping fuel prices, leading to lower transportation costs, a major source of today’s inflation. If Putin or Biden escalate the Ukraine War, look to fuel prices to spike and inflation to escalate. Ending the Ukraine War is the only way Biden can stabilize U.S. inflation and drop interest rates.
Talking about using U.S. and NATO weapons to strike inside Russia does nothing to work toward a ceasefire and peace talks. Putin doesn’t want to retaliate against the U.S. for escalating the war but must react in kind, threatening to supply missiles to allies with an ax to grind with the United States. Biden and Zelensky think they have the world on Ukraine’s side but many populous countries, including Brazil, South Africa, China and India continue doing business with the Russian Federation, compensating for Moscow’s revenue loss with the European Union [EU]. U.S. and NATO know that Russia receives arms support from China and India, showing that Biden’s sanctions have backfired. If Biden wants the U.S. inflation to slow down, he needs to find a political solution to the Ukraine War, something his past chief Gen. Mark Miley told him was the only way out.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
