Russia’s central bank calls move illegal; threatens to file lawsuits in arbitration court to recover damages
French President Emmanuel Macron (centre) attends a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting by video conference in Paris on Friday. PIC/GETTY IMAGES
The European Union is expected on Friday to lock up Russia’s assets held in Europe until it gives up its war in Ukraine and compensates its neighbor for the heavy damage that it has inflicted for almost four years. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe — accused the European Commission, which prepared the decision, “of systematically raping European law”.
A total of 210 billion euros ($247 billion) in Russian assets are frozen in Europe. The vast majority of the funds — around 193 billion euros ($225 billion) at the end of September — are held in Euroclear, a Belgian financial clearing house. The money was frozen under sanctions that the EU imposed on Russia over the war it launched on Feb. 24, 2022, but these sanctions must be renewed every six months, and all 27 member countries must approve them for that to happen. Hungary and Slovakia oppose providing more support to Ukraine.
Russia’s central bank on Friday described the European Union’s decision to freeze its assets as “illegal actions” and threatened to file lawsuits to recover damages. The Bank of Russia said intends to recover damages caused to the Russian regulator from the Belgian depository Euroclear and will file a corresponding lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court. Meanwhile, Ukraine on Thursday claimed that its long-range drones had struck a major offshore oil platform in the Caspian Sea earlier this week, as part of an undisclosed mission.
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