We have many options to retaliate, Moscow says amid West’s scheme for Russian assets

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned other countries that Moscow has many options to retaliate against a plan by the United States and its allies to seize income from its assets.

The Russians have “significant amounts” of Western assets and property located on Russian territory that could be the target of retaliatory actions and confiscation by Moscow if the West seizes its income from Russian assets, Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Last week, the Group of Seven (G7) leaders gathered in Italy agreed to allocate the interest from Russian assets frozen in the West to provide a $50-billion loan to Ukraine.

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Russia said such moves were illegal and taking other countries' money would undermine global trust in the Western financial system.

“Our country has significant amounts of Western funds and property that are under Russian jurisdiction; all of this may be subject to Russian retaliatory policies and retaliatory actions,” Zakharova told reporters.

“Of course, no one will disclose the nature of these retaliatory actions to you. But the arsenal of political and economic countermeasures is wide.”

Zakharova also revealed to reporters that Moscow received “direct signals” from some G7 countries that they would not take part in such actions.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, European countries have focused their attention on providing support to Kiev, financially and militarily.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized Western states' policies, warning that they are increasing the risk of a global conflict.

Moscow warns of 'painful response' if EU uses Russian assets to fund Ukraine

Russia says that desperate attempts by the West to take the income from frozen Russian assets were criminal.

One "painful response" to countries who take Russia's money, according to experts, would be to confiscate the foreign investors’ financial assets and securities currently held in special “type-C” accounts, to which access has been blocked since the start of the war unless Moscow grants a waiver.

Some 260 billion euros in Russian assets have been frozen under sanctions slapped on Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Euroclear, the Belgium-based central securities depository, holds around 190 billion euros of Moscow's assets.

Last week, Reuters reported that the EU bloc might provide about half of the $50 billion loan to Ukraine. However, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who hosted the G7 summit, said the money would come from the United States, Canada, Britain and probably Japan and that EU states would not be directly involved in providing any loan for the time being.

Moscow has repeatedly denounced the West's military support for Ukraine since the war began. The Kremlin says Western countries are only adding fuel to the flames of war, and that they do not seek to find a solution to end the conflict.

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