The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell predicted the price of gasoline could soar as high as $8 a gallon this spring due to expected inflation from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

His comments came after he made a formal statement yesterday saying the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and “led by its President Vladimir Putin is wrong, unlawful, and should end and be reversed”.

“We support the statements of the Secretary General of the United Nations and we’ve also joined with our CARICOM partners in support of a joint statement on this issue,” Mr Mitchell said at a press conference.

“The Bahamas supports the right of self-determination, the inviolability of territories settled within legally defined borders. The seizure of territories based on tendentious interpretation of history should not be the basis of hegemony over other nations and peoples without their consent.”

“ We again call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and for the Russians to withdraw to their borders.”

 Russia launched a “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine on Wednesday night. Dozens of people are reported dead after weapon strikes in Ukraine while tens of thousands of people have fled their homes.

 Mr Mitchell said the situation is unfortunate.

 “… It is for that reason we believe that it is important now that the world is once again lined up on one side or the next, that it is important that we be counted on the side of our allies and friends.

 “… Let us hope that world peace ultimately prevails. You say to yourself that we’ve had a good run so far trying to recover from this pandemic and just at the point where the world seems to be getting back on its feet, one of the actors does something which disrupts the economy, the world order. For example, they’re predicting the price of oil, for example, will be sky high and right now they’re predicting in the spring time in this country, $8 a gallon for gasoline.”

 Mr Mitchell said the problem is whenever there is a war there is an economic contraction. This comes as the country is trying to get back on its feet.

 “For example, we got a briefing which will be reaffirmed when the Parliament meets next week that revenue’s up something like 60 percent over the last year. So, people are just back in gear. So, when you have this kind of dislocation people get frightened and they start saying ‘Well I better start stay at home ‘cause it’s not a good idea’ and we’re a tourism business. So, it’s just not a good signal. Fortunately it’s not in this hemisphere, but everything has a knock-on effect.”

 The United States and other countries announced severe economic sanctions yesterday against Russia after the invasion.

 Asked if The Bahamas will be ready to vote for sanctions if presented to the UN or any other forums, Mr Mitchell said he believed this will be on the agenda of the Prime Minister and other fellow heads of government.

 “I was thinking about this,” Mr Mitchell said. “Certainly I think when the Prime Minister gets around the table in Belize next week with his fellow heads of government that must be one of the things they’ll have on their agenda to talk about what measures, if any, can be done from this side.

 “For example, the Russians are actively campaigning for us to support them next year at the BIE (Bureau International des Expositions) in Paris for the World Expo in 2030. So, you ask yourself, you’re trying to persuade us that you’re a good country for us to support and that and that what should our answer be in the face of that…

 “One of the difficulties, I would have had an instant answer if these sanctions were imposed by the United Nations, but you know Russia is a part of the Security Council. Sanctions have to be imposed by the Security Council and Russia is one of the five permanent members (that) has a right of veto. So, you can expect that no sanctions will get through the Security Council….so it will just be which would bind us if it went through to the Security Council. So, it will just be now our decisions in concert with our partners, our trade partners in what we do going forward.”

 Mr Mitchell said his ministry had no reports of Bahamians being stuck in Russia or Eastern Europe generally.

 However, Bahamian WNBA player Jonquel Jones tweeted about the situation, saying she is currently living in Russia.

 When asked by one Twitter user how things were going for her, she tweeted “no changes on my end. If it wasn’t for family members messaging me and me following the news I really wouldn’t be able to tell.”