In Germany, they said that the disconnection of the Russian Federation from SWIFT will create problems for the economies of Western countries
Photo: Alexey Vitvitsky / RIA Novosti
The head of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, Oliver Hermes, in an interview with WirtschaftsWoche, assessed the consequences of Russia's disconnection from SWIFT for the West.
According to him, this will create significant problems for the economy of Western countries. “Russia is much more integrated into the world economy than, for example, Iran. Therefore, its disconnection from SWIFT will create significant problems for us in the market,” he said.
Hermes added that if Russia is cut off from the international payment system, then Moscow will increase its economic sanctions on Beijing. He believes that as a result of such a development of events, the West “will not receive any gain.”
The specialist emphasized that financial organizations that work with Russia will suffer special economic damage. “Western banks and credit institutions will lose billions, and current business contacts will be so complicated that many transactions will lose their meaning,” he said.
On December 16, deputies of the European Parliament said that in the event of aggression against Ukraine against Russia, an expanded package of sanctions should be introduced, including the country's disconnection from the SWIFT payment system.
SWIFT is an international organization that controls the largest interbank information exchange system. The service allows banks from all over the world to quickly and securely transfer money to each other. The Kremlin called reports of US plans to disconnect Russia from SWIFT information hysteria. Some Western countries also consider it problematic to implement such a measure, Bloomberg found out in mid-December from sources familiar with the upcoming package of restrictive measures.
