US welcomes Japan’s decision to isolate Russia from international financial system

The United States on Saturday (local time) welcomed Japan’s announcement to isolate Russia from the international financial system – SWIFT.

“We welcome Japan’s announcement today that it will stand alongside the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States to isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies,” read White House press secretary Jen. Declaration of PSAKI.

Following Japan’s announcement, the entire G7 now supports the disconnection of some Russian banks from SWIFT, restrictions on the Russian Central Bank and sanctioning key Russian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, holding Russia responsible for the Ukrainian crisis.

“Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Government of Japan were the first to condemn President Putin’s attack on Ukraine and we will continue to work closely together to impose tough new costs and make Putin’s war of choice a strategic failure,” the statement added.

The United States and its allies announced on Saturday (local time) the withdrawal of Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.

“We are committed to ensuring that certain Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and will harm their ability to operate globally,” said the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the Kingdom. United States, Canada and the United States, in a joint press release. declaration.

“We pledge to impose restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in such a way as to undermine the impact of our sanctions,” the statement read.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the allies would prevent Russia “from using its war chest”, by crippling the assets of its central bank. They also agreed to freeze its transactions and prevent the central bank from liquidating its assets.

She added that there would be a crackdown on so-called “golden passports” which “allow wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government to become citizens of our countries and access our financial systems.”

“We are committed to ensuring that a number of Russian banks are removed from SWIFT. We will cripple the assets of the Russian central bank. This will freeze its transactions,” the European Commission president said.

SWIFT is the acronym for Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. The Belgium-based cooperative is used by thousands of financial institutions in more than 200 countries, including Russia, and provides a secure messaging system to facilitate cross-border money transfers.