The United States and the European Union are not considering an option of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT and are discussing target economic sanctions against the largest Russian banks instead, Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing sources in the German government.
The US and the EU are considering the response in case of a military operation of Russia against Ukraine for several weeks, the newspaper said. Cutting Russia from SWIFT is "too delicate" for participants in talks, the newspaper said. This step can lead to a short-term destabilization of the financial market and promote the development of an alternative payment infrastructure without domination of the West in the midterm, Handelsblatt said.
Talks between the EU and the US are now aimed at devising sanctions against major Russian banks, the newspaper said. Germany insists on excluding this item to continue paying for oil and gas import from Russia.
