(Dan Tri) – Russia claims to have grounds to confiscate Western assets after the US House of Representatives passed a law allowing the transfer of Moscow’s confiscated assets to Ukraine.
Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin (Photo: Tass).
`Washington passed a law to confiscate Russian assets to provoke the European Union (EU) to take the same step, which will harm the European economy,` Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav
`Washington made an illegal decision to steal (assets). This will certainly undermine the confidence of other countries, businesses and private investors in the US. And the principle of
He also warned that the US decision would cause `irreparable damage to international law by setting a precedent that would allow any country to take similar actions`.
`Now, our country has every reason to make proportionate decisions regarding foreign assets,` the Russian official emphasized.
Mr. Volodin said that of the $280 billion in Russian assets frozen abroad, only $5 to $6 billion is in the United States while about 210 billion euros ($224 billion) is in the European Union.
Previously, NBC reported that the House of Representatives passed the `REPO Act` allowing the administration of US President Joe Biden to confiscate billions of dollars worth of Russian assets located in US banks and transfer them to Ukraine for redistribution.
After Russia launched a special military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, the US and its allies banned transactions with the Russian central bank and finance ministry, freezing about $300 billion in Russian assets in Ukraine.
US officials see the asset confiscation plan as leverage to force Russia to sit at the negotiating table to end the conflict with Ukraine.
Experts warn that the confiscation of Russian assets could cause Western countries to face legal challenges.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov once warned that Moscow could cut diplomatic relations with Washington if the US confiscated Russian assets frozen due to the Ukraine conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the US of trying to create a `legal cover` to steal Russia’s sovereign assets, a move that Moscow has repeatedly warned would violate international and domestic law.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that Russia has prepared a list of Western assets that can be confiscated if the West decides to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets.
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