Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday urged Germany and Hungary to back Russia's expulsion from the SWIFT banking system as Moscow continues its military operation in Ukraine.
"We have almost full support from EU countries about disconnecting Russia from SWIFT. I hope Germany and Hungary will have the courage to support this decision," Zelenskyy said in a video address that was posted on his Telegram channel, Sputnik News Agency reported today.
Zelenskyy said also that Ukraine has a right to EU membership, and achieving this would be a key sign of support for the country.
"This is the decisive moment to close one and for all the multi-year strategic discussion, make a decision on Ukraine's membership in the European Union. I discussed this with Charles Michele, Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron," Zelenskyy said, as per Sputnik.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi told Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Italy would support the EU's position on sanctions, including cutting Russia off from SWIFT, the Chigi Palace said in a statement.
"Prime minister Draghi confirmed to president Zelenskyy that Italy supports and will support the European Union's position on sanctions against Russia, including on SWIFT," the press service of the Italian council of ministers said.
However, as per reports, the decision of whether to cut Russia off from the SWIFT international financial network or not will be made within a few days.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region.
Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow.
( With inputs from ANI )
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