By © Reuters. FILE PHOTO: British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace walks at Downing Street, in London, Britain, February 21, 2022. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain would like to cut off Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system and will continue to lobby reluctant allies to take that step, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday.
“We would like to go further, we’d like to do the SWIFT system – that is the financial system that allows the Russians to move money around the world to receive payments for its gas – but … these are international organisations and if not every country wants them to be thrown out of the SWIFT system, it becomes difficult,” Wallace told BBC TV.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that United States and the European Union have opted not to cut Russia off from SWIFT, but he said they could revisit that issue.
On Thursday, major western countries including the United States and Britain announced sanctions on Russia, stretching from its banks to elites, in response to Russia invading Ukraine after months of diplomatic dialogue failed to bear fruit.
Wallace said Britain would continue to lobby its allies to win support for a move on SWIFT.
“We will work all the magic, do everything we can in diplomacy,” he said.
UK wants to cut Russia off from SWIFT – defence minister
Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.
