Russia to respond symmetrically to EU's use of proceeds from frozen assets

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said that Russia will take mirror measures in case of confiscation of its assets in Europe.

Russia will also respond symmetrically to the possible use of proceeds from Russian funds frozen in the EU, Siluanov stressed, according to Kommersant.

“If such a decision is made, then an absolutely symmetrical response will follow from the Russian Federation. We also have enough assets that are frozen here and are also in the so-called “C” accounts, these are our obligations on securities, dividends, those that constitute our obligations to foreign counterparties from unfriendly countries,” the minister said.

In the G7 countries, the European Union and Australia, about €260 billion of assets of the Central Bank of Russia have been frozen, the Financial Times reported. Sanctions were applied after the Russian Federation sent troops to Ukraine. Western countries are discussing the possibility of using these funds to restore Ukraine.

Discussions are underway in the EU regarding the transfer to Kyiv of income received from frozen Russian assets. The US wants to confiscate the assets themselves, not the proceeds from them. According to media reports, Washington proposed that Western countries recognize themselves as victims of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, seize Russian assets and transfer them to Kyiv.