US President Joe Biden has said that the United States will impose very significant sanctions on Russia for its military actions in Ukraine. He said this at a briefing.
"Putin is an aggressor, Putin is choosing war, and now he and his country are facing consequences," Biden said.
In particular, we are talking about export restrictions, sanctions against VTB, as well as sanctions for the export of high-tech products to Russia. Biden also added that the United States has already imposed sanctions on Russian banks with assets of more than $ 1 trillion, which together make up about a third of Russia's banking system.
"Today we have imposed sanctions on 4 more Russian banks, including VTB, Russia's second largest bank with assets of $ 250 billion," he added.
"On Tuesday, we eliminated the possibility for the Russian government to borrow from American and European investors. Now we are going to impose the same restrictions on Russia's largest state-owned enterprises - companies with assets of more than $ 1.4 trillion," Biden said.
While answering the question why Russia is not disconnected from the SWIFT system, he stressed that the new sanctions will be much stronger.
"The sanctions we are imposing are greater than SWIFT, more than anything we've used before," Biden said.
He noted that most of the world is supporting the restrictions against Russia. However, Biden added that he could not yet comment on whether China would help isolate Russia.
While answering the question if Putin decides to move beyond Ukraine, Biden said: "If he moves on to NATO countries ... If we do not act now, immediately and decisively, he will have stronger intentions," he said.
It will be recalled that SWIFT is an international interbank information transfer and payment system. According to preliminary data, Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus opposed the disconnection of Russia from the SWIFT system. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson is in favor of the proposal.