WASHINGTON, January 17. /TASS/. The US’ authorities continue consultations with European colleagues in respect of measures against Russia for the case of its hypothetical invasion to Ukraine, with no option ruled out, a spokesperson of the US National Security Council told TASS in response to the request to comment on the publication in Handelsblatt newspaper, saying that the United States and the European Union are allegedly no longer considering an option of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT.
"No option is off the table. We continue consulting very closely with European counterparts on severe consequences for Russia if it further invades Ukraine," the spokesperson said.
The authorities of the US and the EU have been considering how to respond in case of Russia’s military operation against Ukraine for several weeks, the newspaper said citing sources in the German government. The participants of those consultations believe that cutting Russia fully from SWIFT can lead to a short-term destabilization of financial markets and promote the development of an alternative payment infrastructure without domination of the West in the midterm, Handelsblatt noted. That said, the talks between the EU and the US are now aimed at devising sanctions against major Russian banks, the newspaper added. Germany insists on excluding this item to continue paying for oil and gas imports from Russia.
Concerns over Moscow's alleged preparations for an invasion into Ukraine have been increasingly announced in the west and in Kiev recently. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these statements as an empty and groundless escalation of tension, emphasizing that Russia posed no threat to anyone. At the same time, the Kremlin press secretary did not exclude some possible provocations to justify such claims and warned that the attempts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict by force would carry extremely serious consequences.
On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. Consultations on the issue took place in Geneva on January 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12 and a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on January 13.