Germany ready to limit Russia’s access to Swift, ministers say

Germany said on Saturday that it was willing to accept a “targeted and functional” limitation of Russia’s access to the Swift interbank connection system in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

“We are working to limit the collateral damage of a Swift deletion so it affects the right people,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a joint statement.

Ukraine is calling for Russia’s expulsion from Swift, but European Union countries such as Germany or Hungary have expressed doubts so far, for fears that such a move will cause problems in the delivery of Russian gas.

Swift (World Interbank Financial Telecommunications Society) is a communication network that allows transactions between financial institutions quickly and securely.

According to the website of the Russian national association Rosswift, Russia is second after the United States in number of users of the system, with 300 member banks and institutions.

Concretely, this system allows a nation like Germany, for example, to electronically pay for its Russian gas purchases.

Third sanctions package

The European Union is in talks on a third package of sanctions on Russia, a diplomat from the bloc told Reuters on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear whether this new round will include measures that affect Russia’s access to Swift.