Bessent Floats Dropping Banking Sanctions On Russia

Politico reports:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday did not rule out allowing Russian banks to rejoin the SWIFT international payment messaging system as negotiations continue on an end to the war in Ukraine. But the White House would need backing from Europe to restart it.

“There would be a long discussion about many things in terms of the proper way to bring Russia back into the international system,” Bessent told Fox News news anchor Martha MacCallum. “But I think this is premature to discuss the terms of a deal before we have a deal.”

“I think everything is on the table,” Bessent told MacCallum. “And as you mentioned, part of the national security effort that Treasury does is through the financial operations, is through our sanctions, is through sanctioning individuals, banks or countries.”

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Bessent opens door to Russian return to major international banking system https://t.co/HpKTL8pTLi

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