Cyprus has never opposed SWIFT ban on Russia -finance minister – Reuters

NICOSIA, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Cyprus has not opposed proposals to cut Russia off from the SWIFT global payment system, Cypriot Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides said on Saturday.

“In the name of EU unity and solidarity to Ukrainian people Cyprus has NOT objected to ANY EU sanctions including cutting Russia off Swift,” Petrides said in a Twitter post.

He was responding to some speculation that Cyprus, which has extensive business links with both Russia and Ukraine, was among countries with reservations about quickly ejecting Moscow from SWIFT.

“Everything is on the table,” Petrides tweeted.

The governor of a central bank within the euro zone told Reuters on Saturday that a decision to cut Russia off from SWIFT would be taken in a matter of days. read more

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Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Catherine Evans

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