Swift: EU leaders line up to back banning Russia from banking network
More EU countries – including France, Italy and Greece – have said they would back a ban on Russia using the Swift global payments network in a bid to pile further pressure on the country after its invasion of Ukraine.
Cyprus and Hungary also said they would support such a measure.
The move, which it is hoped would hit Russian trade by making it harder for companies in the country to do business, is being considered to escalate sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, warned on Thursday that European and US politicians would have “blood on their hands” if they did not support a ban. The following day, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said a ban did not get the “necessary unanimity” but that it would remain a possibility for future consideration.
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said on Friday she did not believe a ban was the best course of action and France’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said one should be used only as a final resort.
But on Saturday, Kuleba said the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, had supported cutting Russia out of Swift during a phone call with him. Writing on Twitter, he also said that France was ready to supply Ukraine with weapons and military equipment.
<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Call with my French counterpart @JY_LeDrian. France supports banning Russia from SWIFT. I urged to immediately introduce the third package of EU sanctions to stop Russian invasion. France is also ready to supply weapons and military equipment to help Ukraine defend itself.The office of the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, also said it would support any EU sanctions. In a statement, his office said Draghi had spoken to Ukraine’s
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