MOSCOW: Russia has issued a stern warning to the European Union, vowing a strong and proper political and economic response if the bloc moves ahead with the potential confiscation of Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia that Moscow possesses a “sufficient arsenal of tools” to retaliate, adding that the EU would “feel the response.”
“Brussels and other European capitals, which are particularly zealous in supporting the idea of de facto confiscation of Russian money, can be sure that Russia has a sufficient arsenal of capabilities for a proper political and economic response,” the diplomat said.
Grushko argued that any move toward expropriation would shatter global confidence in the bloc’s financial integrity.
“The consequences for the initiators and participants of expropriation measures are guaranteed,” he said. “Public refusal to respect the property rights of the Russian Federation will lead to a collapse of trust in the European financial sector, which has been formed for decades, and a large-scale outflow of capital.”
The Deputy Foreign Minister urged EU member states not to be influenced by “irresponsible European officials and inveterate Russophobes” who are advocating for the measure without fully considering the risks to the reliability of the EU as a “financial harbor.”
The warning comes as the EU is actively debating how to utilize the estimated €200 billion to €300 billion in Russian central bank assets frozen in Western jurisdictions, with the majority held by the Belgium-based financial institution, Euroclear.
The current EU proposal, supported by many member states, involves structuring a €140 billion loan to Ukraine secured by the immobilized Russian assets. This financial mechanism is designed to provide critical funding for Kyiv without the outright, legally fraught confiscation of sovereign assets.
Despite the legal workaround, Moscow has repeatedly condemned any effort to tap the funds or the profits generated by them, labeling the initiatives as “complete lawlessness” and “theft.”\
