President Vladimir Putin said that any Western efforts to seize frozen Russian assets will cause an irreversible transition to regional payment systems and will benefit the global economy in the long run.
It is estimated that about $300 billion in sovereign assets of Russia were frozen by the West after the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022. About 200 billion euros ($209 billion) is held by Euroclear, a Brussels-based payment center.
EU foreign policy launched Kaja Kallas has repeatedly called for the funds to be exploited to rebuild Ukraine, despite opposition from several member states.
The West has repeatedly talked about "how they will steal our money" - Mr. Putin said at the Asian Economic Forum in Minsk, Belarus on June 26. As soon as that happens, the shift to regional payment systems will accelerate and will certainly become irreversible, the Russian president said, stressing that it would be a good thing for the global economy in the end.
Maybe its worth paying for. We are determined to continue to strengthen our own financial and payment instruments on this issue, President Putin said.
Despite the freeze, Russia's assets still earn billions of dollars. In July last year alone, Euroclear transferred $1.63 billion in interest to Ukraine to support the $50 billion loan that the G7 provided to Kiev.
The EU is discussing ways to extract revenue from frozen assets without violating international legal standards. The International Monetary Fund has warned that the total seizure could damage global confidence in Western financial institutions.
Discussions between member states on asset seizures have been going on for more than three years without any solutions.
Moscow has condemned the freezing of its assets and hinted at possible retaliatory measures against Western investments and assets in Russia.
