Russia vows ‘very tough’ response over West’s ‘theft’ of its seized assets
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russia on Tuesday (Feb 13) warned the West that its response would be “very tough” if its assets were seized by Europe and the United States. Both the European Union and the US seized Russian assets worth $300 billion in 2022 following Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine. Russia’s warning came a day after the EU adopted a law aimed at utilising windfall profits from Russian assets frozen in EU banks for rebuilding Ukraine.
"This is theft: It's the appropriation of something that doesn't belong to you," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by state-backed media. She added that Russia’s response would be “very tough.”
"Considering that our country has qualified this as theft, the attitude will be towards thieves," Zakharova said. "Not as political manipulators, not as overplayed technologists, but as thieves," she added. Moscow maintains that it would also seize American and European assets in a tit-for-tat move.
EU’s new law
Russia’s response came after the EU on Monday passed the law aimed at funding Ukraine’s rebuilding using Russian assets. The EU, along with G7 nations have been debating for over a year how the Russian assets should be used to help Ukraine.
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The US even floated the idea of confiscating the $300 billion assets altogether, a move deemed too risky by the EU officials.
Who holds Russian assets in Europe?
The majority of the assets are held by Belgium's clearing house Euroclear.
The law passed on Monday means central securities depositories (CSDs), such as Euroclear, will be prohibited from using net profits and must keep revenues from the Russian assets separate.
The law would apply to all financial institutions holding Russian assets worth more than $1.1 million.
As per estimates, a whopping $16 billion in profits could be extracted from Russian assets by using the new law.
Ukraine welcomed the EU’s move. "We encourage further steps to enable their practical use for Ukraine's benefit. These steps must be ambitious and prompt," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on X.
(With inputs from agencies)