US and European officials are finalizing a wide-ranging package of sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine and targets major Russian banks, but does not exclude Moscow from the Swift system, according to US and European sources.
The sanctions on the table also include controls on exports of Russian-made components to the technology and defense sectors. Sanctions will also be imposed on certain Russian oligarchs, according to three sources familiar with the talks.
A US official said Russian banks targeted would include VTB and Sberbank, the two largest in Russia. Both were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department after the annexation of Crimea, thus limiting their ability to raise funds in the US. Wider sanctions now, however, would have more significant consequences. However, they may be accompanied by some periods of relaxation and some exceptions, in order to limit the damage to American and allied companies.
Russia’s complete exclusion from the Swift system is out of the question, as European countries have voiced strong objections as they fear that the billions of dollars in outstanding loans they owe to Russia will remain unpaid.
“The aim is to design sanctions that would really hurt the Russians, avoiding collateral damage to those who would impose them, as we recognize that sanctions would hit Europe harder,” said one source.
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