Diplomat Birichevsky: there are no real prospects for disconnecting Russia from SWIFT
Photo: Edgard Garrido / Reuters
Dmitry Birichevsky, Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry, in an interview with RIA Novosti, assessed the likelihood of disconnecting the Russian Federation from the international interbank SWIFT system, stating that there are no real prospects for this.
He recalled that SWIFT is an international private company headquartered in Belgium, and it is completely unclear how “the Americans are going to implement their threats.” “Although we all perfectly understand that the US still has great leverage, so we are ready for any surprises,” the diplomat emphasized.
According to him, there are no real prospects for disconnecting Russia from SWIFT, which Moscow has repeatedly spoken about. “This rhetoric periodically dies down, then appears with renewed vigor,” said Birichevsky.
On December 16, the deputies of the European Parliament announced that in case of aggression against Ukraine against Russia, an extended package of sanctions should be introduced, including the disconnection of the country from the SWIFT payment system.
Later on the same day, Bloomberg, citing interlocutors familiar with the upcoming package of restrictive measures, reported that Western countries consider it problematic to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT system as part of sanctions for an allegedly possible escalation of the situation on the border with Ukraine.
