OREANDA-NEWS Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schellenberg does not rule out disconnecting Russia from SWIFT. He called possible all types of financial sanctions against the Russian Federation in the event of an invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine.

Referring to possible sanctions against the «Nord Stream — 2» gas pipeline, the certification process of which is scheduled to be completed in the next few months, the head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry expressed the opinion that these punitive measures will not be perceived by Russia as a real threat, since the pipeline has not yet been put into operation.

Earlier, in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Presse am Sonntag Alexander Schallenberg pointed out Europe's dependence on Russian gas supplies. «To a certain extent, we in Europe depend on energy from Russia. If we need heat and electricity, we will not be able to change it overnight», he said.

In the same interview, commenting on the topic of Russia's possible invasion of Ukraine, he noted that the EU is currently developing extensive economic and financial sanctions and that «in case of escalation, a very clear, unambiguous and quick response will follow».

The Austrian oil and gas company OMV is one of the investors of the «Nord Stream — 2» project. The Baumgarten gas hub, located near Vienna, is a major transport hub through which Russian gas is supplied to a number of European countries, including Germany, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia.