MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. Potential disconnection of Russia from the SWIFT system could be a "harakiri" for the EU economy, the head of the Association of Russian Banks Garegin Tosunyan said on Wednesday.

He said that probability of such a move is very low. "Undertaking of such measures will signal degradation of the global financial system. Not merely Russian economy, but also Europe and even the SWIFT system will be hit," he added. Tosunyan hopes that SWIFT will resist political pressure and continue working with Russian banks.

Rumors appeared last summer that the Western sanctions could go as far as disconnection of Russia from SWIFT. This topic can appear again on the agenda against the background of conflict escalation in south-eastern Ukraine, though not all EU members are supportive of that.