Fortunately, We Don't Run Banking with The SWIFT System: Maduro

On Wednesday, President Nicolas Maduro welcomed that Venezuela does not depend on the SWIFT financial messaging system, from which seven Russian banks were expelled due to the sanctions of the European Union (EU).

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"We are happy not to operate a banking system dominated by countries that promote destabilizing actions in other nations," Maduro stated, stressing that Venezuela runs bank transactions with its digital currency the "Bolivar."

At the EU request, SWIFT will disconnect VTB, Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiya, Sovcombank, and VEB banks from March 12. Russia's large lender banks Sberbank and Gazprombank were not part of this sanction because they are the main channels for payments for this country's oil and gas, on which Europe depends.

The EU, however, announced that these two banks will be subject to other measures and welcomed that the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. announced that they will prevent certain Russian banks from making transactions to their countries too.

To counteract these aggressions, Russia’s Central Bank invited its foreign trading partners to join the SPFS system, which is the Russian analog of SWIFT messaging system.

"Russia is a military, economic, commercial, and technological power and will not be intimidated by these sanctions," Maduro acknowledged and ratified that Venezuela will maintain commercial relations with it.

"This brother country will have our support in their struggle against these coercive measures, which are a clear demonstration of an economic war against it," the Venezuelan President stated, highlighting that conflicts should be resolved through diplomatic and peaceful means.