The future chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Germany, Friedrich Merz, warned against cutting Russia off from the international payment system SWIFT, saying that this decision would also harm Germany.
In an interview with DPA, Merz compared Russia’s possible disconnection from SWIFT to an “atomic bomb” for the capital market, goods and services. There would be a massive economic downturn, and Germany “would hurt itself considerably,” said the future head of the CDU.
“Therefore, Merz called for caution, because “Germany is a strong export country.” He fears serious consequences not only for European-Russian trade, but also for the world, ”says the content of the ZDF interview.
In addition, disconnecting Moscow from SWIFT “will break the foundation of this international payment system,” Merz said.
In January of this year, the United States introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. The document, titled “The Law on the Deterrence of Authoritarian Military Actions 2022,” includes, among other things, the introduction of a ban on transactions with Russian companies in the energy, financial, mining and aerospace sectors, and also imposes sanctions against the SWIFT international interbank system if it “does not stop providing services Russian banks and companies subject to sanctions.
The imposition of tough sanctions against Russia could lead to the opposite effect in the form of damage to the global economy and retaliatory Russian cyber attacks, CNN reported, citing sources. The fact that Russia’s disconnection from the international interbank system SWIFT is not beneficial to anyone, said the Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov.
The SWIFT system allows you to transfer information and make payments between banks in different countries. More than 11,000 financial institutions from more than 200 countries of the world, including Russia, are connected to it.
The initiative to disconnect Russia from SWIFT has been repeatedly expressed by European and Ukrainian politicians. On April 29 last year, the majority of deputies of the European Parliament (EP) supported a resolution that proposed, among other things, to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. However, this document is not binding, but acts as an EU recommendation.
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