Europe will not be able to receive oil and gas from Russia if Russia is disconnected from SWIFT - Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council

European countries will not be able to receive oil, gas and metals from Russia if Russia is disconnected from the international banking system SWIFT, Federation Council Vice Speaker Nikolai Zhuravlev told TASS on Tuesday.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country's government is discussing with the United States the possibility of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT in case of an alleged possible invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.
"SWIFT is a settlement system, it's a service. So if we disconnect Russia from SWIFT, we will not receive [foreign] currency, but buyers, European countries first and foremost, will not receive our goods - oil, gas, metals and other important components of their imports. Do they need it? I'm not sure," Zhuravlev said.
According to the senator, SWIFT is a convenient, fast, but not the only way to transfer financial messages. He added that the decision of only the U.S. and Britain is not enough for the potential disconnection of Russia from SWIFT, a unified decision of all countries participating in this system is needed. "SWIFT is a European company, an association of many member countries. The decision to disconnect needs a unified decision of all member countries. The decision of the USA and the UK is definitely not enough. I am not sure that other countries, especially those whose share of trade with Russia in the balance sheet is large, will support disconnection," Zhuravlev stressed.