President of European Commission: EU discussing all possible sanctions for Russia, incl disconnecting from SWIFT, stopping Nord Stream 2 if Russia attacks Ukraine

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President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says that the European Union is discussing all possible sanctions, including the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT system, as well as stopping the Nord Stream 2 if Moscow invades Ukraine.

This was reported by UA with reference to Interfax.

She said this in an interview with CNN, published on the website on Thursday. The article, which quotes the words of the President of the European Commission, says that when it comes to sanctions, including the murder of the discussed Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the exclusion of Russia from SWIFT, a high-security network that unites thousands of financial institutions around the world, if Moscow invades Ukraine, nothing is removed from the table (nothing is removed from the discussion).

“I want to be very clear – nothing is off the table,” von der Leyen said in an exclusive interview with CNN when asked if the EU would cancel the proposed energy deal.

The President of the Commission reminded that “the Commission is responsible for designing, shaping, and developing the sanctions,” pointing that “you should not forget that the European Union is the biggest trading partner to Russia. About of 40% of trade and goods is done between Russia and the European Union. The European Union is also the biggest foreign investor: 75% of direct foreign investment is coming from the European Union. So, these figures tell you that we have a strong leverage and that it would be very painful for Russia in case that they increase this aggression against Ukraine,” CNN quoted von der Leyen as saying.

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