According to German media, Director of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce - Mr. Matthias Schepp - warned that Germany will be the country facing the greatest risk in the European Union (EU) if it faces retaliatory moves from Russia for the intention to use Moscow's frozen assets.
Mr. Schepp explained that compared to EU members, Germany is the country that invests the most in Russia, and affirmed that Germany has the most to lose if the EU uses the assets of the Russian Central Bank, especially to buy weapons for Ukraine.
German media estimates that Berlin currently has about 100 billion euros ($116 billion) in assets in Russia and that entire asset block could suffer direct losses if Moscow responds to the EU's move.
The warning comes as the European Commission (EC) is pushing for a plan to raise about €140 billion ($160 billion) for a competition fund for Kiev, claiming that the money could later be recovered from Russia.
However, many international media outlets reported that EU leaders did not reach a consensus on this proposal at the Brussels ( Belgian) summit on October 23.
At the time, many member states expressed concern about the plan.
Belgium, where most of the assets of the Russian Central Bank are held at the Euroclear stock exchange, raised legal issues about loans to Kiev.
Hungary also opposes the measure, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was not present at the latest discussion on Ukraine, warned that such a move could undermine confidence in the EU financial system and increase tensions.
Moscow has repeatedly said it will consider any use of frozen assets as an act of appropriation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that transferring Russian money to Ukraine would be " counterproductive", while emphasizing that "if anyone wants to steal our assets and illegally appropriate them, they will be subject to legal prosecution in one way or another".
