Canada supports Russia’s removal from SWIFT, sanctions Putin
BNN Bloomberg
Canada supports ousting Russia from the SWIFT financial messaging system, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday, as NATO countries seek to punish President Vladimir Putin over his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Canada supports ousting Russia from the SWIFT financial messaging system, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday, as NATO countries seek to punish President Vladimir Putin over his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Canadian government will also impose sanctions directly on Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the third wave of sanctions Canada has levied on Russia this week, Trudeau said at a late afternoon press conference. He added that Canada will levy fresh sanctions on Belarus and its leaders “for abetting President Putin’s invasion of a free and sovereign nation.”
Canada’s moves come after the U.S. government announced Friday that it will sanction Putin, joining the European Union and the U.K.
The SWIFT messaging system is central to the international financial system, delivering secure messages among more than 11,000 financial institutions and companies in over 200 countries and territories.
Trudeau said Putin “cannot expect to overturn and end 75 years of peace with a violent and unprovoked attack on an innocent neighbor, and still expect to be able to benefit from the financial systems and economic opportunities that that very peace has created.”
Kicking Russia out of SWIFT would inflict significant economic pain, but some European countries have been hesitant to support the measure, fearing it could disrupt supplies of natural gas and cause other economic blowback.
