Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Ursula von der Leyen: Sanctions on Russia Target 70% of Banking Sector


Fri 25 Feb 2022 | 08:46 PM
Taarek Refaat

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet early Friday that EU leaders had agreed to impose sanctions on Moscow targeting 70% of the Russian banking sector and major state-owned companies, including defense companies.

“Second, we target the energy sector, a key economic area which especially benefits the Russian state. Our export ban will hit the oil sector by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries.

“Third: we ban the sale of aircrafts and equipment to Russian airlines."

“Fourth, we are limiting Russia’s access to crucial technology, such as semiconductors or cutting-edge software."

“Finally: visas. Diplomats and related groups and business people will no longer have privileged access to the European Union."

She added: “These events mark the beginning of a new era. Putin is trying to subjugate a friendly European country. He is trying to redraw the map of Europe by force. He must and he will fail.”

https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1497259514868998144?s=20&t=2G_48eXk38urMqRaikZVWg

https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1497197343371894787?s=20&t=2G_48eXk38urMqRaikZVWg

https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1497146704499511297?s=20&t=2G_48eXk38urMqRaikZVWg

On his part, British Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace said his country wanted to isolate Russia from the SWIFT system for global interbank payments.

"We would like to go further, we would like to use the SWIFT system - this is the financial system that allows the Russians to move money around the world to receive payments for gas - but you know like many things," Wallace told the BBC on Friday, these are international organizations and if not every country wants to kick them out of the SWIFT system, it will be difficult.”

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden revealed new sanctions against Russia after its operation in Ukraine, including 4 Russian banks, describing them as "corrupt billionaires and their families close to the Kremlin", in addition to imposing restrictions on goods that can be exported to Moscow.

He added during a press conference now, that the sanctions aim to reduce Russia's ability to deal in dollars, euros, sterling pounds and Japanese yen.

Biden stressed that there is no plan to suspend Russia's participation in the SWIFT system.

The Russian army announced, on Thursday, that it had destroyed 74 military facilities, including 11 airstrips in Ukraine, as Moscow launched a large-scale military operation on Thursday morning.

"After the strikes of the Russian armed forces, 74 ground military facilities belonging to the Ukrainian military infrastructure are out of service," said a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, General Igor Konashenkov.