Western Allies Claim their Targetted Russian Sanctions Trump a SWIFT Ban as Russian Occupiers Near Kyiv
cryptonews.comThe EU claimed it has created a “package of sanctions” that will be “massive and painful” for Russia. It stated that the new sanctions would remove some 70% of Russia’s banking capabilities – but Europe appears utterly divided as to whether it should block banks from an international banking protocol.
Meanwhile, a number of Western media outlets, including the BBC, have claimed that Russian occupiers could be ready to march on the capital, Kyiv, as early as this morning.
Crucially, European leaders have stopped short of placing bans on Russian exports of oil and gas. They also refused to consider a block on Russian access to the SWIFT banking network.
Per the Financial Times, EU leaders and other nations outside the bloc held talks on sanctions, but failed to agree on a SWIFT ban. German leaders reportedly spoke against such a move, while the UK was in favor.
Washington, meanwhile, has claimed that it “will limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen to be part of the global economy.” The United States has also frozen assets in VTB bank accounts and blocked allied financial institutions from providing services to Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank. A number of other banks have also been targeted.
Bloomberg reported that the “consensus among member nations is that they don’t want to expel Russia from SWIFT due to “concerns that if adversaries are kicked out, they could break off to develop their own version.” The media outlet confirmed that the stance had been outlined by “a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”
The American President Joe Biden had previously stated that a SWIFT ban was “always an option,” but confirmed that “right now that’s not the position the rest
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