Alternatives to SWIFT as a Counter-Sanctions: Russia’s MIR
https://www.rozen-bakher.com/timeline-risks2/23/09/2022/1159
Published Date: 23 September 2022
Rozen-Bakher, Z., Alternatives to SWIFT as a Counter-Sanctions: Russia’s MIR, Risks Timeline by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher, 23 September 2022, https://www.rozen-bakher.com/timeline-risks2/23/09/2022/1159
Risks Timeline by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher
Comments on Contemporary Risks by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher
Risks Timeline by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher https://www.rozen-bakher.com/timeline-risks-all
Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher
Researcher in International Relations and Foreign Policy with a Focus on International Security alongside Military, Political and Economic Risks for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and International Trade
23 September 2022 at 11:59. MIR is a Russian payment system that has served as an alternative to SWIFT since the start of the Western sanctions imposed on Russia. Currently, it is used by loyal allies of Russia, such as Turkey, Vietnam, Belarus, Kazakhstan and more. However, it complicates firms that used MIR, like in Turkey, because they work both with the West and the East. Therefore, Erdogan instructed his government to develop, together with Russia, an alternative to the Russian payment system Mir, which will de-fact bypass the West's sanctions. In other words, if the alternative payment system will be Turkish and not Russian, then the USA will not be able to sanction it. It's a perfect example of how Russian loyal allies help Russia to bypass the West's sanctions. Clearly, Turkey is a loyal ally of Russia, despite the statements by Turkey against Russian referendums and such. At the action level, Turkey helps Russia to win the war-sanctions, while at the statement level, Turkey says what the West would like to hear.
Translation below from the news Erdogan instructed to develop an alternative to the Mir system https://www.mk.ru/economics/2022/09/23/erdogan-poruchil-razrabotat-alternativu-sisteme-mir.html
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed the government to develop, together with Russia, alternatives to the Russian payment system Mir. This is reported by the TV channel A Haber.
The media previously reported that some Turkish banks stopped servicing the Mir system due to US sanctions.
“The ministers were instructed to develop with Moscow alternatives to the Mir payment system. Negotiations with the Russian side were conducted by the relevant departments, in particular, by the ministers themselves,” the TV channel notes.
They added that Erdogan will hold discussions on this topic in the coming hours. What alternatives are being considered is not yet known.
