Russia Will Demand the Return of Reserves Frozen in the EU, Says Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow will allegedly be able to secure the return of its gold and foreign exchange reserves frozen in the European Union. These are assets of the Central Bank of Russia that are currently frozen at the Belgian depository Euroclear.
Lavrov stated that the so-called “legal aggression by Western countries” manifests itself in a broad interpretation of international law and its adaptation to their own needs.
He cited the frozen Russian assets in Euroclear as an example.
“The European Commission, as before—as I have already said—wants to confiscate these assets and then return them to us only after we pay certain reparations to Ukraine. We will secure the return of our gold and foreign exchange reserves; I have not the slightest doubt about that,” Lavrov stated.
According to him, the EU is allegedly seeking “quasi-legal grounds” to justify the possible confiscation of Russian funds and is attempting to remove them from Belgian jurisdiction.
“Right now, the European Union is coming up with various quasi-legal grounds not only to justify what is, in essence, theft, but also to remove these funds from Belgian jurisdiction, because the Belgian prime minister categorically refuses to take any steps toward their confiscation, which is precisely what the European Union leadership wants. And they want to transfer them to some account that will be a pan-European account, not a Belgian one. “This is an absolutely blatant criminal attempt to divide responsibility and organize a ‘circular guarantee,’” said the Russian foreign minister.
Lavrov also stated that Western countries are allegedly trying to portray the situation as if the frozen funds themselves belong to Russia, but the profits from them do not.
“They are trying to present the matter as if the funds belong to Russia, but the profits from them—which exceed the agreed-upon share—do not belong to Russia,” he noted.
According to Lavrov, such a position could only be justified if Russian assets had not been seized and frozen.
Sergey Lavrov’s statements reflect the Russian leadership’s position on the frozen assets.
This is reported by Russian media.
In Estonia, Jonathan Vesewiov, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the frozen assets of the Russian Federation—an aggressor state—should be used for the benefit of Ukraine. He cited the implementation of international measures that would have irreversible consequences for Russia as one of Estonia’s main diplomatic goals.
Portugal will not oppose the use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine if European Union member states reach a common position on this issue.
The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported the use of Russian state assets to pay Ukraine compensation for damages caused by the war. The corresponding draft resolution and recommendations were prepared based on a report by British parliamentarian Tony Vaughan.
As a reminder, Belgium has categorically refused to transfer Russia’s frozen assets to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga expressed his gratitude to the foreign ministers of Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, and Spain for their joint initiative. This refers to a letter to the European Commission calling for the use of frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine.
