Image source, EPAThe government of Germany softened its stance on shutting Russia out of the main global bank payments system.
The Swift system makes it possible to move money across frontiers if Russia is blocked from it.
Germany, which opposed the move, favors targeted and functional restrictions.
The economy and foreign ministers wanted to hit the right people.
The economic sanctions against Russia will be increased in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
Germany had argued that expelling Russia from Swift would cause huge damage to the Western economies and cause a lot of suffering to the Russians.
The assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, have been frozen as a result of the sanctions.
Swift is used by more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions to carry out transactions worth trillions of dollars.
The process of sending and receiving cross-border payments would be more difficult and expensive if Russia were not in Swift.
Foreign Minister Robert Habeck and Economy Minister Annalena Baerbock issued a joint statement.
They said that they are working on how to limit the damage of Swift in a way that affects the right people.
What we need is a restriction of Swift.
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