EU: Cutting Russia off from SWIFT problematic
A Bloomberg report quoted sources as saying that the EU considers the US calls to cut off Russia from the SWIFT global payment system problematic, as Russians believe it is a national security issue.
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The US believes that agreeing on a sanctions package would send a clear message to Moscow, a Bloomberg report said.
The EU considers a cutoff of Russia from the SWIFT global payment system problematic as the US pushes the union to finalize an array of sanctions against Moscow to be implemented in the event the latter invades Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
The US believes that agreeing on a sanctions package would send a clear message to Moscow, the report said.
Bloomberg mentioned that potential measures under consideration right now include restrictions on Russia's ability to refinance its sovereign debt, sanctions on companies in the energy and defense sectors, and a ban on Russia's participation in key international transaction networks like SWIFT.
However, cutting off Russia from SWIFT, which is used to transfer payments around the world, is considered extremely problematic due to potential disruptions of global markets for energy and other Russian exports, the report explained.
National security issue
Andrey Krutskikh, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for International Cybersecurity Cooperation, expressed that "when we face threats of being disconnected from SWIFT, from financial flows, those not being on the scale of ordinary actions, this is also an issue of national security."
"In other words, this technology has involved certain issues in the questions of war and peace probably for the first time in recent years," Krutskikh indicated.
There is also concern that Moscow may decide to cut off gas exports to Europe amid already-surging energy prices, the report added.
The European Parliament on Thursday enacted a resolution calling on the EU to be ready to impose sanctions against Russia in the event of escalation at the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine persuades the EU
This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that he "was able to persuade our European colleagues that it is more vital for us to have sanctions implemented before rather than after the start of any conflict...because if that happens, there will be no escalation," following a meeting between European leaders and Eastern Partnership members Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Tensions around Ukraine have escalated over the last several weeks amid an alleged buildup of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border.
Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that it is planning an invasion, arguing that Russia has the right to relocate the troops within its territory at its own discretion.
