BERLIN (Reuters). BERLIN (Reuters). The European Union’s package of bank sanctions will be more severe than excluding Russia SWIFT from its payments system. This is according to Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister.

From Brussels she stated that Russia had offered to host talks with Ukraine in Minsk, but it hadn’t been mentioned at the European Union foreign ministers meeting she attended, because it was a “poisoned” offer.

She stated to ARD public TV that excluding Russia in SWIFT would prevent foreign civil rights organizations from being supported or Russian students from sending money to their grandmothers.

She stated that “the sword looking the best isn’t always the smartest.” It’s not only oligarchs that do financial transactions… Listing banks is the current sharper knife. It is illegal to sell government bonds abroad.

While she stated that the sanctions against someone who is “ruining her country not just economically but also for young Europeans who desire a better future in Europe,” would prove effective over time, they could not stop Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.

She said that Putin (Putin), doesn’t care about international isolation or the economic future of his country. “If he offends our values, he cannot stay in the international community.”