Sputnik News
The idea of cutting Russia off from the biggest global bank network in the event of an invasion of Ukraine was reportedly floated by the US to inflict the harshest sanctions. Moscow strongly rejects any claims that it plans to attack its neighbour.
The leader of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, has warned about dire consequences for Europe if the US and EU go through with a plan to cut Russia off from the SWIFT system. In an interview with the German news outlet Die Welt, Merz said that such a move would, first of all, hurt the European economy.
"There is a great danger that [SWIFT] will collapse and that we may then have to switch to the Chinese payment system. By doing so, we will cause serious harm to ourselves", Merz said.
The head of the CDU, the former ruling party, noted, however, that the option of cutting Russia off from SWIFT in case of aggression against Ukraine still remains on the table.
Merz's remarks echo a report by Bloomberg, which cited anonymous Western officials as saying that such an option is still being discussed. The sources, however, told Bloomberg that the harsh measure is strongly opposed by a number of European governments and it will be difficult to move forward with the idea.
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