Western leaders have agreed to remove selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally, they said.

 

This follows Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russia following its action. 

 

Leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States said they are also committed to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of its sanctions, a statement said.

 

The leaders said they condemned Putin's war of choice and attacks on the sovereign nation and people of Ukraine. 

 

"We stand with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people in their heroic efforts to resist Russia's invasion. Russia's war represents an assault on fundamental international rules and norms that have prevailed since the Second World War, which we are committed to defending. We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin," a statement said.

 

"This past week, alongside our diplomatic efforts and collective work to defend our own borders and to assist the Ukrainian government and people in their fight, we, as well as our other allies and partners around the world, imposed severe measures on key Russian institutions and banks, and on the architects of this war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

"As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies. We will implement these measures within the coming days."

 

They committed to acting against the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government. "Specifically, we commit to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship—so called golden passports—that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems," it added.

 

The group will launch in the coming week a transatlantic task force that will ensure the effective implementation of its financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within their jurisdictions. 

 

"As a part of this effort we are committed to employing sanctions and other financial and enforcement measures on additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families, and their enablers to identify and freeze the assets they hold in our jurisdictions. We will also engage other governments and work to detect and disrupt the movement of ill-gotten gains, and to deny these individuals the ability to hide their assets in jurisdictions across the world," it said.

 

The group also decided to step up its coordination against disinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare.

 

"We stand with the Ukrainian people in this dark hour. Even beyond the measures we are announcing today, we are prepared to take further measures to hold Russia to account for its attack on Ukraine," it said. - TradeArabia News Service