Chancellor Olaf Solz (SPD) has met with opposition within his party to a no-blockade of Russia from Swift’s banking network, according to a Welt report.
The president of the German “New Socialists”, the youth of the SPD (JUSO), Jessica Rosenthal, on Saturday called for the way to be opened for this particularly harsh sanction.
“We should not hesitate to impose all the sanctions at our disposal. This also includes the exclusion of Russia from Swift,” the head of the SPD youth union told the German Press Agency.
“We can really hurt the Russian government with this. We have to meet the demands of our partner countries from Eastern Europe.” The New Socialists make up 49 of the 206 members of the Bundestag SPD, or about a quarter.
A comprehensive EU sanctions package entered into force on Saturday night, covering the energy, finance and transport sectors, as well as export controls on certain products. In addition, the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are to be frozen abroad.
However, Russia’s blockade of Swift is not yet included. It is considered the sharpest package of sanctions because it would practically cut off Russian banks from the global financial system, comments Welt.
At the EU summit on Thursday, Germany rejected such a move. Opponents so far include Italy, Austria, Hungary and Cyprus. However, Italy, Austria and Cyprus have since abandoned the resistance. Solz said Thursday that sanctions should be withheld “for a situation where other things need to be done.” Scholz did not say what the situation meant.
Rosenthal said the approved sanctions were “a good first step”. In their view, however, it is not enough. “However, we are dealing with an aggressive war.
“Only last night, Putin’s troops tried to occupy Kiev,” said the Social Democratic youth leader. “Our solidarity with Ukraine is unquestionable, but words must be followed by clear action.”
Source: Capital
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