Moscow has warned that it will respond in kind if the West proceeds with the confiscation of Russian assets. Dmitry Birichevsky, the director of the Department of Economic Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the volume of funds affected by Russia’s retaliatory measures would be significant. He emphasized that Moscow is prepared for any situation regarding frozen assets. The proposed mutual exchange scheme put forward by Russia has the potential to interest Western counterparties, whose funds are currently held in Russian jurisdiction. However, cooperation is contingent on the willingness of both parties. Birichevsky expressed doubt about the optimism of signals coming from the US and the EU, citing ongoing attempts in Brussels to create a legal basis for the confiscation of Russian assets. He also mentioned Washington’s alleged promotion of a new formula that would enable the US to declare itself a victim of a Russian special operation and confiscate Russia’s sovereign reserves. Birichevsky stressed that regardless of the destination of these funds, their confiscation would amount to the theft of Russian property. Recent reports indicate that Germany, France, Italy, and the EU have raised questions about the legality of the US plans to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets worth $300 billion. The White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications, John Kirby, has deemed it premature to discuss the use of frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine. The Kremlin has warned that such actions would violate international law. The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned the freezing of Russian assets in Europe as theft, noting that the EU’s targets extend beyond private funds to include state assets. Since the launch of the special operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries have frozen approximately half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves, amounting to around 300 billion euros. The majority of these funds are held in the European Union, primarily in accounts with Belgian Euroclear. Euroclear has reported earning approximately three billion euros in interest from investments in sanctioned Russian assets during the first nine months of 2023.
