ArmInfo. The European Union is discussing the possibility of cutting Russia from SWIFT due to the situation in Ukraine.
According to RIA Novosti, CNN, with reference to high-ranking representative of the European Union, claims that the countries of the Union are discussing the possibility of cutting Russia off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), due to the launch of the Russian military operation to demilitarize Ukraine.
According to the source, the EU countries are divided on this issue. For example, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are in favor of cutting Russia off from SWIFT as part of a broader package of sanctions that European countries are expected to announce on Thursday.
For their part, Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus are opposed to such a measure and advocate the development of closer economic ties with Russia. A EU source told the TV channel that discussions on the subject were "continuing". At the same time, he expects that economic interests will prevail, and Brussels will not agree to cut Russia from SWIFT.
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had decided on a special military operation against Ukraine. In a televised address to the Russians, he said that the circumstances "require decisive and immediate action from us, the people's republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help." According to the Russian leader, all responsibility for the bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine. He called on the Ukrainian military not to follow the criminal orders of the Ukrainian authorities, lay down their arms and go home.
