The United States and its allies may still remove Russia from a key international payment system, even after President Joe Biden declined to do so twice since the invasion, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is the main system that facilitates cross-border financial transactions and money transfers. SWIFT is overseen by the Bank of Belgium and is used by 11,000 institutions worldwide. Biden has cited a lack of consensus from Europe in electing not to make the move.
UKRAINE PLEADS WITH US TO KICK RUSSIA OUT OF SWIFT INTERNATIONAL BANKING SYSTEM
“The president’s principle is taking steps in alignment,” Psaki said Friday. “We are stronger together, especially as we stand in the face of Russia’s military actions and their invasion of Ukraine.”
Italian and German leaders are said to be the ones opposing the SWIFT sanctions, while the United Kingdom is lobbying hard for it. But a reporter in the briefing room said the Italian and German governments have indicated they would not veto the move.
“As it relates to SWIFT, we’ve never taken that off the table,” Psaki added. “I’m certainly not taking it off the table today. So certainly, there will be ongoing discussions about that.”
WHAT IS SWIFT, AND WHY IS IT A STICKING POINT IN THE EFFORTS AGAINST PUTIN?
SWIFT is a messaging service that connects 11,000 banks. The press secretary noted that “many would argue” there are ways the Russian leadership could get around it over the course of time but that the sanctions could still happen.
Dmytro Kuleba, the minister of foreign affairs for Ukraine, said on Friday that he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and emphasized “the need to use all U.S. influence on some hesitant European countries in order to ban Russia from SWIFT.”
A day earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “We demand the disconnection of Russia from SWIFT, the introduction of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and other effective steps to stop the aggressor.”
Biden announced two different sets of sanctions on Wednesday and Thursday, though neither included kicking Russia out of SWIFT.
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Sanctions are now expected to be imposed directly against Russian President Vladimir Putin, ramping up pressure on the Russian leader as Moscow continues a deadly military assault on Ukraine.
