The U.S., European allies and Canada agreed Saturday to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT, an extraordinary step that will sever the country from much of the global financial system.
When asked if the U.S. had any indication if China, the world’s second-largest economy, would financially assist Russia amid punishing sanctions, the official said “China’s not coming to the rescue.”
“China is actually restricting some of its banks to provide credit to facilitate energy purchases from Russia, which suggests that much like has been the pattern for years and years, China has tended to respect the force of U.S. sanctions,” the official said.
The leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S. also plan to limit the sale of so-called golden passports. The official described them as a loophole that allows wealthy Russians connected to the Kremlin to become citizens in other countries and access certain financial systems.
“We will go after their yachts, their luxury apartments, their money and their ability to send their kids to fancy colleges in the west,” the official added.