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European Union divided on cutting Russia from global bank network after invasion
By Peter Aitken
Published February 24, 2022
The European Union is unlikely to cut Russia off from the SWIFT global bank system, with member nations divided over the decision.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Thursday local time. World leaders and diplomats widely condemned the attack and promised strong sanctions in response.
The foreign ministers of the Baltic States and Poland want to include the measure in the next raft of sanctions against Russia, but Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus remain wary – for now.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in 2019 that any action on SWIFT would "in fact be a declaration of war."
The SWIFT network, which allows banks to send and receive money transfer orders, is based in Belgium and overseen by the central banks of the United States, Japan and Europe, meaning any decision to cut Russia from SWIFT would require agreement from all parties.
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https://www.foxnews.com/world/european-union-divided-russia-global-bank-network