Will blockchain be adopted as alternative?
Vusala Abbasova
Caspian News
April 30, 2021
As Brussels is tightening the screws on Russia by threatening to shut the country off from one of the quickest and safest ways to receive and send money via electronic bank transfers, Moscow is getting ready for any eventuality in case of a shutdown.
Andrey Krutskikh, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for International Cyber Security Cooperation, voiced Moscow’s readiness to respond if Russia is disconnected from the SWIFT global payment network. However, according to him, threats to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT system are unlikely to be realized.
“As far as the technological and military-political insurance against disconnection, one would have to ask specific specialists in these areas,” Gazeta.ru quoted Krutskikh as saying on Wednesday. “But our armored train stands on the side track, and, of course, we have full confidence in our strength and the power of our response.”
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or simply SWIFT, is a global transaction network that connects more than 11,000 banks operating in at least 200 countries. SWIFT is a cooperative society under Belgian law owned by its member financial institutions with offices around the world.
Earlier this week, the European Parliament called for harsh coordinated measures against Russia, including disconnecting from SWIFT. Officials in Europe accused Russia of what Manfred Weber, parliamentary head of the center-right European People’s Party, called “continuing the course of dangerous provocations” and “strengthening the military presence around eastern Ukraine.”
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