A complete ban on Russia’s access to the SWIFT system of financial transactions was not considered after serious objections from European countries.

In Europe, they are concerned that disconnecting Russia from SWIFT will mean that billions in debts will not be repaid / photo by REUTERS

The United States and Europe are finalizing a broad package of sanctions against Russia in the event of its invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions target large Russian banks, but do not include a ban on Russia from using the SWIFT financial system , Reuters writes, citing US and European officials.

One US official said that among the Russian banks that could be sanctioned were state-owned VTB and Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institutions.

Both institutions are already subject to sectoral sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department after Russia occupied Ukraine’s Crimea, but the full lockdown that is now expected will have far more significant consequences, one expert said.

Three sources familiar with the talks said a complete ban on Russia’s access to the SWIFT financial transactions system was not considered after strong objections from European countries.

European creditors are worried that pulling Russia off SWIFT will mean that billions of dollars of debt they have in Russia will never be repaid.

Sanctions against large Russian banks would still have a significant impact on the Russian financial sector and economy, one of the sources said.

“The goal is to design sanctions that really hit the Russians, while keeping an eye on the collateral damage for those who impose them, recognizing that the sanctions will clearly hit Europe harder,” one of the sources said.

US officials said significant progress was made on the sanctions package during meetings with their counterparts in Germany, France and the UK this week.READ ALSO:

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U.S. and European allies have focused on sanctions if Russia physically invades Ukraine, according to U.S. and European officials. They will need to further coordinate any response to sanctions other than a full military intervention, such as a massive cyberattack.

“A lot of issues have been resolved,” said one US official familiar with the talks, adding, “I wouldn’t say there’s 100% agreement, but most of the issues that” Germany raised were addressed.

It is also noted that the sanctions include controls on the export of components produced by Russia for the technology and weapons sectors, as well as sanctions against specific Russian oligarchs.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in mid-January the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz , warned against excluding Russia from the Swift international banking payment system. In his opinion, the exclusion of Moscow “would break the backbone of the payment system.”

Later, information appeared in the media that instead of disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT payment service provider , the EU and the US are thinking about targeted economic sanctions. The idea of ​​cutting off Russian banks from global financial flows is no longer being promoted. Germany also pushed for exemptions so that gas and oil imports from Russia could be paid for.

In turn, the White House said that the issue of disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international payment system was not removed from the agenda . The US continues to consult closely with European partners about the “serious consequences” for Russia if it invades Ukraine even deeper.

(C)UNIAN 2022