Vladimir Putin Predicted To Resign Amid Economic Crisis; US-Russia Cooperation On North Korea Sanctions 'Not Likely'

Lower oil prices will continue to worsen Russia's economic crisis and prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to resign. Noted analyst and former Morgan Stanley senior strategist Byron Wien has predicted that the declining price of crude oil will ultimately lead to Mr Putin's resignation from office.

According to Wien's forecast as reported in Bloomberg, oil prices will drop to the $40 level before recovering to above $70 because of demand from emerging markets. Wien said the oil slump will force Iran to roll back its weapons progamme and in the credit market, a great buying opportunity will be created because of the energy slump.

Wien's predictions follow the Finnish Foreign Minister's statement that European sanctions against Russia are not meant to do harm to the country. Erkki Tuomioja reacted to the French leader's statement urging the EU to stop sanctions against Moscow.

Tuomioja said if progress can be achieved in Ukraine, the sanctions may be removed. However, the Finnish minister said the sanctions were imposed not to inflict long-term harm to Russia but facilitate the resolution of the Ukraine conflict.

Meanwhile, Russia and the U.S. are not likely to join forces in imposing new sanctions against North Korea. Bonnie Glaser, a U.S. government consultant on East Asia told Sputnik News that he is "doubtful" if both countries are willing to cooperate on sanctions targeting 10 people closely associated with North Korea. Glaser, who has worked as a consultant for the U.S. defence and state departments, believes that there will only be a great potential for the U.S. to cooperate with China and Russia on sanctions if North Korea will conduct another nuclear test.

The U.S. Treasury Department has recently announced new sanctions on North Korea due specifically to the country's role in the cyber attack against Sony Pictures. Russian and Chinese governments have did not accept the U.S. charges against North Korea because they did believe U.S. officials do not have enough evidence.

Glaser said the U.S., China and Russia could find common ground on the issue of North Korea's development and testing of nuclear weapons. He believes the three countries have a shared agenda of preventing North Korea's nuclear proliferation.

Contact email: r.su@ibtimes.com.au