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The exclusion of Swift is considered the sharpest sanctions sword against Russia – but the federal government, among others, does not want to draw it so far
Photo: DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
In the Ukraine war, the new EU sanctions against Russia officially came into force on Saturday night. However, the fact that Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others, wants to save Russia from being excluded from the Swift international payment system has caused international criticism. Swift's exclusion is considered the sharpest sanctions sword against Russia. This would effectively cut Russian banks off from the global financial system. Germany and other EU states such as Italy, Austria, Hungary and Cyprus are still rejecting such a step at this point in time.
The international press reviews.
Switzerland
"Tages-Anzeiger"
: "If Putin closes the pipeline, it will be cold and dark in Germany's homes.
Not tomorrow, but next fall at the latest.
Nuclear phase-out, coal phase-out and a lack of investment in alternative energies have made Germany dependent on Russia's cheap gas for heating and electricity production.
Yes, Germany has practically surrendered itself to Russia when it comes to energy supply.
We don't heat with gas as much as in Germany, but that doesn't mean that we're less dependent on Putin's goodwill than our northern neighbors.
(...) Not only have we made ourselves dependent on the Russians, we also earn good money with them.
Especially in the raw materials industry, and that is fatal.
80 percent of the Russian commodity trade goes through Switzerland.
The dealers, the operating company for the gas pipelines and the Gazprom Bank are based in Geneva, Zug and Zurich.«
»New Zurich Newspaper«
:
»Presumably more Germans see that the defense budget must increase and cannot decrease in the medium term as planned.
A functioning deterrent is more important today than ever.
National defense is once again becoming a central task from being something that the state must also take care of.
(...) Some states are particularly challenged - first and foremost the European central power Germany.
Not only has she criminally neglected the Bundeswehr.
Berlin also never reflected on what the resurgence of Russia and its rearmament mean for Europe.
That failure bears the catchy name of Nord Stream.
(...)
As the largest importer of Russian gas, Germany has an energy problem.
A few weeks ago, Germany still believed that it would soon be able to phase out coal and nuclear power and set course for the energy transition with full force.
Now the government has to see how it takes away people's fears of astronomical heating costs and an icy next winter.
The green paradise must be postponed for the time being.«
Netherlands
»de Volkskrant«
: »Of course it is regrettable that the »nuclear option«, the exclusion of Russia from the Swift international payment system, was abandoned.
Of course, this would be a complicated measure that would have many disadvantages.
Russia could be pushed further into China's arms.
And Europe itself would be hit too – in part because it would become harder to pay for Russian gas on which it is so dependent.
(...)
But the arguments of European leaders against excluding Russia from Swift now are far from convincing.
According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, this measure will be withheld in case the situation escalates further.
However, the Ukraine conflict has already escalated in ways many thought impossible: Russia has brutally violated international law by launching a full-scale invasion of a neighboring country.”
Belgium
»De Standaard«
: »What is happening to the Ukrainians is heartbreaking.
That Russia would shy away from all-out war was illusory.
The civilian population takes up arms against the army of a world power that is advancing with its sophisticated war machines.
A horrific Syrian scenario is emerging.
Or there will be a humiliating surrender.
The Ukrainians did not provoke this war.
They are crushed for striving for European freedoms.
You are on your own.
Militarily, Europe doesn't lift a finger.«
Great Britain
Guardian
: Even if Putin wins a quick victory, those sections of the Ukrainian military that are not defeated are likely to continue fighting - opening the prospect of attritional guerrilla warfare against Russian occupation or a puppet government.
Putin's main goal is that Ukraine never joins NATO.
His other demand would limit Ukrainian sovereignty, leaving the country firmly in Moscow's hands.
Without compromise, the Russian President will isolate himself and his country from the European continent.
The Ukrainian people should be able to choose their government, and it should be able to face both east and west without hostility.
Putin's war is undoing that, and it is a tragedy of immense proportions.
But the story does not end with the declaration of victory.
Wars are never won forever.«
ngo/dpa