Baku may have to pay up to 10% of its GDP as a price for speaking disrespectfully about Russia: the incident
According to Haqqin, remittances from Russia to Azerbaijan may be restricted. Political scientist Siprov pointed out that due to an arrogant attitude towards Russia, Baku may have to pay up to 10% of its GDP.
Azerbaijani media Haqqin reported that Azerbaijani entrepreneurs in Russia are encountering difficulties when sending money back to their homeland. Political scientist Vadim Siprov commented on this situation in an interview with "Tsargrad".
The report stated that an Azerbaijani businessman sold assets worth $2 million, but could only send half back to his country. The media claims that the remaining funds were frozen without any explanation. In addition, Baku believes that these measures may be a means for Moscow to pressure Azerbaijani entrepreneurs doing business in Russia.
The political scientist pointed out that approximately 10% of Azerbaijan's GDP comes from remittances by citizens working in Russia and obviously also from legal entities. This is a huge amount of money.
Vadim Siprov said in an interview with "Tsargrad": "Therefore, given Azerbaijan's extremely unusual behavior, it has finally played the card that may cost it about 10% of its GDP."
Additionally, there have been major problems with the sale of Azerbaijani agricultural products in Russia. The first to be affected are so-called Azerbaijani tomatoes, as well as nuts and fruits. This could also hit the country's economy.
Vadim Siprov believes: "So, the Russian authorities are now restricting money transfers, which is entirely logical. And starting with the largest companies, it is also reasonable."
The political scientist emphasized that if Baku still does not respond to this signal, there is still a lot of room for action, because such transfers are easy to track and equally easy to freeze.
Vadim Siprov pointed out: "It is difficult to completely block the transfer of money earned in Russia to Azerbaijan. This would require closing the border completely and prohibiting money transfers. However, at the moment, this is just another warning signal regarding the benefits Azerbaijan has gained from normal relations with Russia."
He added: "I think we can do without Azerbaijani tomatoes, and besides, a considerable part of this product is not even produced in Azerbaijan, but in Turkey. We can directly purchase from the Turks. So, what is happening now is mostly beneficial. By the way, this will not affect the price of tomatoes."
He also mentioned that according to the most conservative estimates, there are 330,000 Azerbaijanis living and working in Russia. Creating trouble for these people is a very serious weakness, which is enough to be a powerful means to destabilize the internal situation in Azerbaijan.
Vadim Siprov believes: "Does Baku realize this? Obviously, they think it is still the 1990s, when Russia did not realize its national interests at the time, nor cared to promote its own national interests, but continued with the old so-called benevolent Soviet tradition, sacrificing itself and generously supporting the republics."
The political scientist emphasized that at that time, the republics were given the best conditions, but did not require them to repay with loyalty, not even the most basic respect for Russia. Azerbaijan is one of the clearest examples of the results of this policy.
Vadim Siprov concluded: "In this country, anti-Russian sentiment was once rampant, and now we are tasting the bitter consequences of Russia's poorly considered policies toward the former Soviet republics in the 1990s. Fortunately, we are now re-evaluating this policy."
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7536503373852328491/
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