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UKRAINE

Italy and France back blocking Russia from Swift banking system

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, more EU nations on Saturday pledged support for a ban on Russia from a global payments network.

Published: 26 February 2022 17:54 CET
Italy and France back blocking Russia from Swift banking system
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Italian Premier Mario Draghi have both expressed support for banning Russia from the Swift banking system. (Photo by Domenico Stinellis / POOL / AFP)

EU leaders including France and Italy’s prime ministers are moving to exclude Russia from using the Swift banking network, in a bid to step up sanctions on the country.

The move would hit Russian trade as Swift permits rapid cross-border payments and is the main means for financing international business.

Italy’s prime minister Mario Draghi spoke to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday to reiterate that “Italy fully supports and will continue to support the European Union’s line on sanctions against Russia, including those regarding Swift,” the government confirmed in a statement.

EXPLAINED: How Italy could be impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Draghi added that Italy “will provide Ukraine with assistance to defend itself”.

Ukraine’s president welcomed the phone call with Italy’s political leader, stating that it marked a a “beginning” between Ukraine and Italy.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba wrote in a tweet that the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, also showed support for piling financial pressure on Russia by banning it from the Swift financial system.

READ ALSO: How life in France could be impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine

From their phone call, he claimed that France says it’s “ready to supply weapons and military equipment to help Ukraine defend itself”.

The fresh support for this sanction marks a U-turn for some EU leaders as Italy, Germany and other European nations were heavily criticised on Thursday for their reservations about cutting Russia off from the Swift international payments system.

Former European Council President Donald Tusk hit back on Friday, saying some EU governments had “disgraced themselves” by blocking “tough decisions”.

READ ALSO: Is Italy pushing to exclude luxury goods sales to Russia from EU sanctions?

Germany has expressed a lukewarm response to banning Russia from Swift payments, by suggesting it is open to the idea but needs to calculate the economic impact first, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Friday.

Russia launched a full-scale attack against Ukraine on Thursday, to which the EU has since responded by announcing various sanctions against Russia.

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UKRAINE

France to transfer Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine

France will transfer Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train their Ukrainian pilots as part of a new military cooperation with Kyiv as it fights the Russian invasion, President Emmanuel Macron announced.

Published: 7 June 2024 08:53 CEST
France to transfer Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine

“Tomorrow we will launch a new cooperation and announce the transfer of Mirage 2000-5,” fighter jets to Ukraine made by French manufacturer Dassault and train their Ukrainian pilots in France, Macron told French TV.

Macron said he would offer to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when the two meet for talks at the Elysée Palace in Paris on Friday that the pilots be trained from this summer.

“You normally need between five, six months [training]. So by the end of the year there will be pilots. The pilots will be trained in France,” he said.

He did not specify how many of the fighter jets would be delivered, and the defence ministry did not elaborate when contacted by AFP.

Macron said Ukraine faced a ‘huge challenge’ training soldiers as it sought to mobilise tens of thousands more troops to go to the front.

He said France would equip and train a brigade of 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers so they can defend themselves when they return to Ukraine from training.

Kyiv has been pushing Europe to increase its military support, with Russia in recent months gaining the upper hand on the battlefield.

Zelensky’s visit to France, where on Thursday he attended ceremonies for the 80th anniversary of D-Day and crossed paths with US President Joe Biden, is seen as a crucial time to drum up more help.

Macron said Ukraine has asked Western allies to send military instructors to train its forces on its soil to meet the growing challenge to build up troop numbers.

“The Ukrainian president and his minister of defence asked all the allies – 48 hours ago in an official letter – saying ‘we need you to train us quicker and that you do this on our soil’,” Macron said.

There had been speculation that Macron could swiftly announce the sending of French instructors to Ukraine, even after his talks with Zelensky on Friday.

But he said France and its allies would come together and decide and also emphasised that he did not believe any such moves by Paris were ‘escalatory’.

“We are working with our partners and we will act on the basis of a collective decision,” he said.

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