Suspending Russia from SWIFT – an international system of financial transactions between banks operated by a Belgium-based company – could massively backfire on Europe, Deputy Speaker of the Russian Senate Nikolay Zhuravlev warned on Tuesday.
“SWIFT is a payment system. It’s a service,” Zhuravlev told journalists. He added that cutting Russia off from it would mean that Moscow would not be able to get foreign currencies. It would also mean that Russia’s trading partners – and that primarily means Europe – would not get goods they import from Russia.
It means that Russia’s oil, gas, and metals, as well as other “important imported products” would not reach European markets in such a scenario, the official warned. “Do they [European nations] need that? I doubt it,” Zhuravlev added.