Moscow: Russia has issued a stark warning to the West, asserting that it will retaliate forcefully if the United States and European Union proceed with the seizure of Russian assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
In response to the ban imposed by the US and its allies on transactions involving Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, approximately $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West have been frozen.
The European Union, aiming to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction, has enacted legislation to allocate windfall profits generated from the frozen Russian central bank assets. This move has been met with fierce criticism from Russia, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denouncing it as theft.
Zakharova underscored that Moscow’s reaction to the situation would be exceedingly severe, characterizing the actions of the West as blatant acts of theft. She asserted, ‘We see this as outright theft, and our response will target the perpetrators themselves. We will not regard them as mere political manipulators or overstated technocrats, but as thieves.’
Russia has already declared its intention to retaliate by seizing assets belonging to the US, European countries, and other nations if its own property is confiscated. This development further exacerbates tensions between Russia and the West.
