Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia’s disconnection from SWIFT a “nuclear bomb” for the economy. He stated this on Saturday, February 12, on the air of the 1 + 1 TV channel.
“SWIFT is really not part of the sanctions package at the moment, but this is not the result of Russian pressure. This is the result of internal processes in the European Union, when some countries, let’s say, were not ready to give up their political interests in connection with a potential disconnection from SWIFT,” he explained.
Kuleba said that Ukraine’s partners in the US and Europe have already completed the formation of the sanctions package. According to him, these will be very painful measures for Russia, “they will cause irreparable damage to the Russian economy.”
“Let’s be clear, if this package had SWIFT, it would be an atomic bomb. But even without SWIFT package [санкций] remains a very powerful bomb for Russia’s economic development,” the minister added.
Earlier, on February 12, Reuters, citing US and European officials, reported that the US and EU were finalizing packages of sanctions against Russia that would be imposed in the event of its so-called invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, there are no measures to disconnect the country from the SWIFT system. The exclusion of this step followed serious objections from the European states.
On February 10, the UK Parliament approved amendments to the Russia Sanctions Act, which allows restrictive measures to be introduced against a wider range of individuals and companies from the Russian Federation, which, according to the British side, destabilize the situation in Ukraine. On the same day, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced that she would sign a bill on sanctions against Russia this week. This will be the toughest sanctions regime against Russia, the diplomat noted.
In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov promised an adequate response to any unfriendly steps taken by Britain towards Russia. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, also pointed out that the artificial nature of the reasons and conditions for the introduction of new sanctions by the UK against Russia is obvious to everyone.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
