Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are demanding that the European Union disconnect Gazprombank from the SWIFT international money transfer system, reports EuObserver. The authors of this initiative also suggest “thinking” about freezing the bank’s assets.
It is proposed to introduce restrictions against the Russian bank as part of a new package of EU measures. The disconnection of Gazprombank from SWIFT will force European gas consumers to turn to alternative interbank systems for transmitting financial information – Russian or Chinese, the newspaper notes.
At the same time, the Baltic countries and Poland are proposing to ban the import of Russian gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), aluminum and to expand the criteria for including Russians in the list of penalties. Another initiative is to close access to EU ports to foreign vessels carrying goods for companies registered in Russia.
Earlier, it was reported that the United States and G7 countries were discussing an almost complete ban on exports to Russia. It assumes that the countries that have joined the new approach will not be able to supply Russia with goods other than those for which an exception will be made.
Meanwhile, the European Union unofficially admits that anti-Russian sanctions have run out. Introducing additional restrictions will only increase the exceptions to them.
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