Russia does not view Western statements about the country’s possible disconnection from the SWIFT international payment system as a threat. This was announced on Friday, June 4, by Russia’s Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
“No, we don’t feel threatened. But I am sure that even this will not be a disaster for us, ”REN TV quotes the Russian representative.
The day before, on June 3, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said at the SPIEF that disconnecting Russia from SWIFT could result in material losses and image losses for the payment system. He noted that the system does not belong to the category of monopoly, and there are analogues in different countries.
Pankin noted that there are a lot of SWIFT users in Russia, and its channel is often used for both domestic and external payments. The system also deals with payments of arrears and commodity flows.
On April 28, the European Parliament published a draft resolution proposing to disconnect Russia from the international SWIFT system and abandon oil and gas “in case of continued aggression” of the country.
In turn, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov noted on April 29 that the country would quickly find an alternative to SWIFT if the system showed its unreliability. The Kremlin spokesman stressed that it is time for other states to understand that Russia is a self-sufficient and strong country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on May 31 that the proposal to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT payment system is not new. He also said that he does not know what specific decisions will be made by the West, as well as by the owners of the payment system.
At the same time, Dmitry Birichevsky, Director of the Department for Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, stressed that SWIFT could be involved in a “sanctions spiral” against Russia. At the same time, he clarified that, according to international law, restrictions can only be introduced by a legitimate body – the UN Security Council.
In turn, the head of VTB, Andrei Kostin, stressed on June 1 that the disconnection of Russia from the SWIFT payment system is unlikely. According to him, this system is not required to strike the domestic sector.