U.S., Allies Roll Out Fresh Sanctions on Russia Amid Debate Over How Hard to Hit
February 25, 2022 | District of Columbia
Russia’s overnight assault on Ukraine triggered a surge of calls Thursday for Western allies to completely cut Russia off from the global financial system, but fear of collateral damage is quashing the idea for now.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at a virtual meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven largest economies, advocated disconnecting Russia from Swift, the financial-messaging infrastructure that links the world’s banks. He joined a chorus of other senior officials, including Ukraine’s top officials, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and senior U.S. lawmakers.
President Biden joined other allies including Germany and Italy in ruling out the move—at least for now. Instead, the U.S. rolled out fresh sanctions on Russian banks, including two of the country’s biggest. Those actions hit 80% of the banking sector, action the U.S. says will cause equivalent pain.
Meanwhile, the European Union is expected to sign off on sanctions on Friday that will cut 70% of Russia’s banking system off from international financial markets and will place limits on the amount of money Russian elites can hold in the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said…. (Excerpt from the Wall Street Journal)
