YEREVAN, September 19. / ARKA /. Andrei Kostin, CEO of VTB Group, Russia's second largest bank, said on Friday he does not believe that the European Union will cut Russia off the SWIFT inter-bank financial system.

"I think this is not going to happen. I would have called it an act of direct aggression against Russia's financial system with all subsequent consequences. This is a very tough measure," Kostin was quoted as saying by Prime news agency.

A resolution adopted by the European Parliament Thursday calls on the European Union to  consider excluding Russia from the SWIFT system and canceling agreements with Moscow in the energy sector, including the South Stream pipeline project.

However, SWIFT said in a statement that recommendations to cut Russia off the inter-bank financial system were violating the company’s rules and are causing huge damage to its reputation.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) transmits 1.8 billion communications a year, remitting payment orders worth $6 trillion a day. The system comprises over 10,000 financial organizations from 210 countries.

Under the SWIFT charter, groups of members and users are set up in each country covered by the system. In Russia, these groups are united in the RosSWIFT association. -0-