New wave of EU sanctions against Russia: 20 banks could be removed from SWIFT

The US-based business news channel Bloomberg, citing its own sources, reported that the European Union (EU) is considering the possibility of removing more than 20 banks from the SWIFT system as part of new sanctions against Russia.

The report stated, “The European Union is considering removing more than 20 banks from the international payment system SWIFT as part of a new sanctions package, as well as lowering the price cap on Russian oil and banning the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines.”

According to the report, the European Commission plans to propose to G7 countries that the ‘price cap’ on Russian oil, currently at the 60-dollar level, be lowered to approximately 45 dollars.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it would cope with the sanctions pressure that the West began imposing on Russia several years ago and continues to intensify. Moscow has stated that the West lacks the courage to admit the failure of the sanctions against Russia. Voices rising within Western countries have also repeatedly expressed the view that anti-Russia sanctions are ineffective.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously said that the policy of containing and weakening Russia was a long-term strategy of the West and that the sanctions had dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. Putin had previously said that the West's main goal was to make the lives of millions of people even worse.