Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 26, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleGermany is unaware of any EU plans to lift Russia's SWIFT sanctions, despite Moscow's demands for sanctions relief linked to a Black Sea security deal.
BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government is not aware of any planned changes to European Union sanctions against Russia, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, commenting on Moscow's demand that Russian banks be readmitted to the SWIFT international messaging system.
Asked about the issue at a regular press conference in Berlin, the spokesperson said SWIFT is headquartered in Belgium, meaning it is under EU law.
"I am not aware of any endeavours within Europe to lift these sanctions," he added.
On Tuesday, Russia called for Western sanctions relief as a pre-condition for a Black Sea security deal, including the restoration of links between its agricultural export bank and the SWIFT system.
This follows a push for peace by U.S. President Donald Trump that has unnerved European allies. His administration reached separate deals with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Madeline Chambers)
The main topic is the German government's stance on EU sanctions against Russia and the SWIFT banking system.
Russia is demanding sanctions relief, including readmission to the SWIFT system, as part of a Black Sea security deal.
SWIFT is an international messaging system crucial for global banking transactions, headquartered in Belgium.
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