UK considers option of cutting Russia from SWIFT banking network

10:38, 25.02.2015 1 min read

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that excluding Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network is an option, if there is further incursion by Russian-backed separatists and Russian forces into Ukraine.

"I would hope that the European Union collectively would respond very robustly with new sanctions, including so-called 'tier three' sanctions, really hitting the economy of Russia," Cameron told a committee of lawmakers in parliament on Tuesday.

"But were that not possible then, of course, we should look at other avenues as well – obviously looking at the SWIFT banking issues is a big decision but there is a logic for it," he said.