The federal government is working “under high pressure on how the collateral damage of a decoupling (Russia) from Swift can be limited in such a way that it hits the right people,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (both Greens) on Saturday. “What we need is a targeted and functional constraint on Swift.”
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the EU had imposed far-reaching sanctions on Moscow. Among others, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov are personally affected by the punitive measures. Russian banks were also sanctioned.
“Massive Collateral Damage”
However, until recently there was disagreement in the EU regarding the exclusion of Russia from the international Swift system, as demanded by the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj, among others. Germany, in particular, was seen as slowing things down, and the governments of Italy, Luxembourg and Hungary were also hesitant at first.
The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had warned on Friday in the ARD of “massive collateral damage” by a Swift exclusion of Russia. She also referred to possible energy bottlenecks.
Baerbock had previously justified Berlin’s rejection by saying that Russia’s Swift exclusion would have a “broad effect” and also affect the population. However, the aim is to sanction those responsible for the bloodshed in Ukraine. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned of the danger of a “world trade crisis” from a Swift exclusion.
Video: Peter Fritz (ORF) speaks about the sanctions against Russia
On Saturday, Zelenskyy renewed his call for Russia to be excluded from the Swift system, explicitly addressing Germany and Hungary. “There is already almost full support from EU countries to decouple Russia from Swift,” Zelenskyy said in a video message. “I hope that Germany and Hungary will have the courage to support this decision.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki took a hard stance on the German government on Saturday. He accused Germany of “stony selfishness” because it could not decide to impose “really crushing” sanctions on Russia. In addition to excluding Russia from Swift, Morawiecki also called for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to be shut down. The German government has already stopped the controversial Nord Stream 2 project.
On Saturday, France was confident that the EU would soon come to an agreement on Russia’s Swift exclusion. “There is no deadlock, just a useful debate,” stressed the Elysée. The EU Commission has made contact with other countries that can supply gas, such as Qatar, the USA, Nigeria and Algeria.
Italy and Hungary also signaled that they would support a Swift exclusion of Russia. According to his government, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi assured Zelenskyy in a telephone call that Rome would “fully” support EU sanctions. This also applies to possible sanctions regarding Swift.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto dismissed accusations that his country had spoken out against excluding Russia from the Swift system as “fake news”. “We have never spoken out against a sanctions proposal, we have not blocked anything,” he assured on Facebook.
Swift has been used as a sanction against Iran in the past. Baerbock said on Friday that it had become apparent that even humanitarian payments to the country were no longer possible. Punitive measures against banks and politicians are more targeted, and Putin has already created a “parallel system” to Swift.
There had already been calls to exclude Russia from the Swift system after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia has developed its own financial systems in recent years, including the SPFS and Mir systems.
Source: Nachrichten
