How will Russia respond to freezing its assets in the West / “What war repairs, Ursula von der Leyen? Only the defeated pay repairs”
Dmitri Peskov, Kremlin spokesman (right, down), photo: Kommersant Photo Agency / DDP USA / Profimedia
The Kremlin confirmed on Tuesday that it will respond to the sanctions and freezing of Russia's assets in the West through confiscations and nationalizations of foreign citizens on Russian territory, reports EFE and Agerpres.
“These measures were taken in the context of the hostile climate that was created around Russia and other hostile actions, including in the economic sphere, carried out by certain European states, as well as by their association, the European Union,” said the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, at his daily press conference.
“Russia takes the measures it considers necessary to save its interests,” he added.
Peskov thus answered a question about the reprivatization of assets in Russia after they were nationalized and if this is Moscow's response to freezing Russian assets in the West and to the plans of European confiscation and even transfer of these assets to Ukraine.
“Of course, if the illegal confiscation plans for Russian assets and properties are implemented, Russia will defend its interests and use all available legal tools,” added the Russian president spokesman.
Ever since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, Russia has nationalized over one hundred companies, many with a foreign shareholder, such as Shell, Danone or Exxonmobil, others belonging to Russian citizens.
The Kremlin threatens that it will respond according to the latest EU plans: “Europeans renew their skills to raise new separation walls”
“What does Ursula von der Leyen talk about?”
“Russia has an arsenal sufficiently countermeasures and capabilities for an adequate political and economic response” if its frozen assets in the West will be confiscated, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned last week, referring to the European Commission's plan to provide Ukraine a loan of 140 billion euros and the Focused Assembly, It refunds only after Moscow would pay for “war repairs”, and until then the Russian assets from which this loan is paid to be replaced by bond guaranteed by the EU states.
Following the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the EU states together with G7 blocked Russia's access to about 300 billion euros from its foreign or gold reserves. From this amount, the EU froze the Russian central bank worth about 200 billion euros, most of this amount, about 185 billion euros, being stored in Belgium in the form of securities and cash amounts, assets managed by the Euroclear Compensation House.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who made the proposal on this loan scheme for Ukraine, claims that it would not be a confiscation of Russian assets and that, through the Guarantees offered by EURO, the risk of negative reaction from financial markets and destabilization of the euro would be avoided. But, as it is difficult to assume that Russia, at least under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, will ever accept to pay Ukraine repairs of war, the proposed initiative actually involves a confiscation of Russian assets.
Russia has described as “illusory” the idea advanced by the European Commission and warned that it will respond very hard if it is put into practice. “I do not want to discuss the concept itself, as it is totally illusory. But the word” repairs “caught my attention. What kind of payments for repairs speak Ursula von der Leyen? “, Maria Zaharova, who recalled that” only the winners in wars pay repairs “reacted.
