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Russia has reduced its investments in US government debt by a third, according to the reports of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In November, Russia’s investments in US government debt securities decreased by $1.3 billion, from $3.7 billion to $2.4 billion.
In 2013, Russia’s investments in US government bonds exceeded $150 billion. In April 2018, amid tough sanctions, Russia’s investments in United States Treasury bonds fell by almost half, from $96.1 billion to $48.7 billion. Since then, they have been constantly declining.
These Moscow’s decision has at least 2 reasons.
Firstly, the reliability of US Treasury obligations is steadily declining due to the actual deterioration of the economic situation and the risk of another financial crisis in the United States.
Secondly, relations between Washington and Moscow are critically deteriorating. As a result, the Kremlin seeks to avoid the blocking Russian state funds in the United States in the event of an armed conflict in Eastern Europe. For its part, through the sanctions threat, the United States is constantly signaling that it are ready to take this step. Previously, Washington has repeatedly done the same with funds of other states that were deposited in the United States.
