Germany, as part of the discussion of possible sanctions against Russia, has withdrawn from consideration the issue of disconnecting from SWIFT. This is reported by the portal Euractiv with reference to a diplomat in the European Union.
While gas and oil are seen as possible leverage, one EU diplomat said the opposition, led by Germany, appeared to have withdrawn from discussion a proposal to separate Moscow from the global payment system SWIFT.
At the same time, a source in the EU said that sanctions against Russia could be introduced "within a few days" if they become necessary and an appropriate decision is made.
On Monday, January 24, EU foreign ministers will meet during their regular meeting in Brussels. The main topics of the talks will be the future security in Europe and the current situation around Ukraine.
On January 17, Handelsblatt reported that the United States and Europe no longer considered Russia's disconnection from the interbank system for transmitting information about SWIFT payments as a sanction. The publication notes that instead, targeted economic sanctions are being prepared against the largest Russian banks.
At the same time, the White House said that the United States would continue to discuss with Europe measures against Russia in the event of its “invasion” of Ukraine, including disconnection from the global SWIFT payment system.
bbabo.Net