Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

UK says it will work ‘all day’ to persuade Europe to cut Russia off from Swift

UK says it will work ‘all day’ to persuade Europe to cut Russia off from Swift

Foreign secretary goes on diplomatic drive to rally support for peak sanctions measure

The UK has said it will work “all day” to persuade fellow European states to cut Russia off from the international Swift payment system.

The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, ended the pretence that Britain was not at odds with its fellow European leaders over the issue. He said there was still time for Russia to be excluded, and the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said: “The UK is working with allies to exclude Russia from the Swift financial system.”

Wallace added: “We will work all the magic, do everything we can in diplomacy.”

Truss is to undertake a round of shuttle diplomacy to try to rally support for the British position after the EU refused to adopt what has been billed as the “nuclear option” of sanctions.

British officials said that the EU, reflecting the divisions at its council meeting on Thursday, kept the Swift option on the table. UK diplomats are arguing that with Ukrainian forces mounting a defence of their country, and scattered signs of unease in Russian cities, this is the moment to try to get ahead of Putin for once and surprise him with a move that would send the Russian economy straight into the deep freeze.

The British position has the support of Canada and some US senators. British officials insist they will keep up the pressure for the policy even if Kyiv falls.

Boris Johnson lobbied the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, on Wednesday on the issue but made no progress. Johnson’s position, also raised at a virtual meeting of the G7, is backed by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer.

The Swift payment system (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is the main secure messaging system that banks use to make rapid and secure cross-border payments, allowing international trade to flow smoothly. It has become the principal mechanism for financing international trade. In 2020, about 38m transactions were sent each day over the Swift platform, facilitating trillions of dollars’ worth of deals.

Swift is incorporated under Belgian law and, although supervised by a complex web of central banks, it was forced in 2012 to comply with an EU regulation, as confirmed by its home country government, that had cut Iran off from the banking system.

Wallace said: “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.”

Opponents of the move argue that it would incentivise Russia to try to use an alternative fledgling scheme. They also say it would be dangerous for countries highly dependent on Russia for their energy, principally Italy.

The Biden administration privately supports the Swift cutoff, but is also focused on maintaining transatlantic unity. Biden highlighted the other swingeing sanctions that the EU had agreed to take, arguing that they were more effective than Swift. He said: “It is always an option, but right now that’s not the position the rest of Europe wishes to take.”

Scholz said before an EU meeting to decide on sanctions late on Thursday night that it was important for the EU to hold measures in reserve to punish Russia further. “It’s very important that we decide on measures that have been prepared in recent weeks and reserve everything else for a situation where it is necessary to do other things as well,” he said.


The former European Council president Donald Tusk said on Friday that some EU governments had “disgraced themselves” by refusing to impose the toughest possible sanctions on Russia even as Vladimir Putin was bombing Kyiv.

The remarkable rebuke by Tusk, who led meetings of the council as president from 2014 to 2019, revealed deep divisions among Europe’s political elite at what is perhaps the continent’s most acute moment of crisis since the second world war.

“In this war everything is real: Putin’s madness and cruelty, Ukrainian victims, bombs falling on Kyiv,” Tusk posted on Twitter. “Only your sanctions are pretended [sic]. Those EU governments which blocked tough decisions (i.a. Germany, Hungary, Italy) have disgraced themselves.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
×