Russia’s reaction will be “unlimited” if the SWIFT payment system is used as an instrument against the country, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
“Yet again discussions have started in limiting the so-called SWIFT payment system. We’ll wait and see what happens. Of course, if these decisions are made, I would like to note that our economic reaction as with any other reaction will be unlimited,” Medvedev said during a meeting.
In September 2014, the European Parliament urged EU member states to consider excluding Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system, which provides the infrastructure for $6 billion of interbank operations daily.
In response, the Russia's Central Bank said the country might introduce alternative channels of interbank communications to replace SWIFT.
On The Verge Of War
If this seems like hyperbole, consider that one of the reasons Japan attacked Pearl Harbor was because the U.S., which was the world's largest oil producer at the time, had cut off oil sales to Japan — a move that clearly signaled which side of World War II the U.S. supported.
U.S. And NATO Break Historic Agreement
Supporting this position is the fact that when the Soviet Union dissolved in late 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had a verbal agreement with the United States and NATO that there would be no encroachment. The U.S. reneged on that promise by building military bases in several former Soviet states, some of which have become members of the European Union and NATO.
Then there is Sevastopol, where the Russian navy ports its Black Sea Fleet. Sevastopol is as important to the Russian navy as the Norfolk and the San Diego naval bases are to the U.S. Navy.
A year ago, Russia engineered the uniting of the city of Sevastopol and Crimea, and immediately annexed them, in a historic referendum. Russia claims Crimea and Sevastopol as parts of the Russian Federation, while Ukraine, the United States and most of the international community consider Crimea still a part of Ukraine.
U.S. Oil Companies Pushing For War
Making the situation even worse is the fact that oil is involved. Here is the key: On May 17, 2014 the New York Times ran a lengthy piece about the offshore drilling rights that came with the annexation of Crimea. This includes an oil field that could rival the prolific oil-producing North Sea! An Exxon Mobil-led consortium, which included other major oil companies, had already explored the Black Sea under an agreement with Ukraine. This is why Ukraine is so strategically important.
Redividing the Black Sea
Russia’s annexation of Crimea also gives Russia control of a large swath of the Black Sea, including deep oil reserves.
Russia is actively supporting the separatist movement not with just equipment but most likely with troops. The U.S. and NATO assert that Crimea is not a part of the Russian Federation. The bottom line here is that big oil wants its oil fields back. This is why the Ukrainian situation is so explosive. And the Russians, important enough to have been invited to the recent World Economic Conference in Davos, are now say that shutting Russia out of SWIFT would be an act of war.
Credit to Sputnik and KWN
Nunez Report
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