YEREVAN, February 16. /ARKA/. Banning Russia from the SWIFT financial system will have a negative impact on Armenia because of Armenian and Russian economics’ interconnections, Seyran Sargsyan, the executive director of the Union of Banks of Armenia (UBA), told a news conference today.

"The negative impact will be significant, and we hope it won't happen," he said. According to him, Russian authorities are actively working to create alternative remittance systems.

"They are doing this work together with representatives of partner countries. We are also, in a sense, involved in this work having taken part in remote discussions on the matter," he said.

Sargsyan also added that the Armenian side is interested in having alternative solutions, so that ‘our clients are able to carry out their financial transactions normally.’

Earlier the chairman of the Central Bank Martin Galstyan did not rule out that the application of Western sanctions on Russian banks.

According to news reports, US and European officials are finalizing an extensive package of sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine. The sanctions if applied will target major Russian banks, but they will not cut off Russia’s access to Swift, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, although it is one of the potential sanctions being pushed by the US. EU officials say it is under discussion but unlikely to be included in the first round of measures. -0-