The Kremlin warned the West on Friday that it has a list of North American, European and foreign assets that could be confiscated if G7 leaders decide to seize $300 billion in frozen reserves from Russia’s central bank.
G7 leaders will discuss a new legal theory that would allow the seizure of frozen Russian assets when they meet in February, two sources close to the plans and a British official said on Thursday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any such move by the West would amount to “theft”, violate international law and harm reserve currencies, the global financial system and the world economy.
“It will be a serious blow to the main parameters of the international economy, it will damage the international economy,” Peskov told reporters.
“This will undermine the trust of other countries in the United States and the European Union as economic guarantors. Therefore, such actions are fraught with very, very serious consequences.”
When asked if there was a specific list of Western assets that Russia could seize in retaliation, Peskov replied: “Yes, there is.”
He declined to say what specific resources were on the list.
After President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies banned transactions with Russia’s central bank and the country’s Finance Ministry, stranding about $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets in the West.
US and UK officials have worked in recent months to increase efforts to seize Russian assets in Belgium and other European cities, and they hope G7 leaders will agree to make a stronger statement when they meet in February on the occasion of the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. three sources told Reuters.
The legality of the seizure of Russian sovereign assets is unclear, and Russia has repeatedly said it would challenge any seizure in court.
Supporters of the seizure of Russian assets say that the war in Ukraine is illegal and that the frozen Russian money should be given to Ukraine for reconstruction or even to fight Russian forces.
Source: Terra
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