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Sunday, 30 January 2022 (YJC)_ The leader of the German Christian Democratic Union party called the Western countries' attempt to impose sanctions on Swift Russia a big mistake.
Friedrich Mertz, leader of Germany's main Christian Democratic Union party, says sanctions against Russia and its severance from Swift (the international interbank payment system) would be a big mistake by the European Union.
According to the Tass news agency, Mertz said in an interview with the German newspaper "Die Welt":
If we boycott Russia over Swift, we would make a big mistake that could ruin the whole system, and we might have to push for a Chinese payment system that would do great damage to European countries.
The leader of the Christian Democratic Union also called the signing of the cooperation and partnership between the European Union and Ukraine wrong. He stressed that the partnership with Ukraine in the European Union contradicts the European trade agreement with Russia.
Regarding the possibility of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Mertz also referred to the decision of NATO members in 2008 and said: "NATO member states expressed their opinion in 2008 that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO until the unknown future."
He added:
I think this position is still correct. At Russia's request, however, we should not restrict Ukraine's freedom to decide on NATO membership.
Ukraine and the West have repeatedly stressed in recent months that Russia is seeking a military strike on Ukraine, citing the deployment of 100,000 Russian troops in Russia's border areas. However, Russian officials have denied the allegations, saying the presence of troops on the Ukrainian border is normal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently spoke about the intention of Europe and the United States to impose sanctions on Russia over Swift:
Sanctions against Russian political officials, along with blocking Moscow's access to the Western-controlled financial system, have meant severing ties that benefit no one.
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