Moscow – Russia’s state news agency RIA said yesterday it estimated the West could lose assets and investments worth at least $288 billion if it seizes frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine, and Moscow will retaliate.
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After President Vladimir Putin sent forces to Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and its allies banned transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, blocking around $300 billion of Russian sovereign assets in the West.
American and British officials have worked in recent months to boost efforts to seize Russian assets tied up in Belgium and other European cities to help rebuild Ukraine, parts of which lie in ruins.
They expect Group of Seven (G7) leaders to agree to issue a stronger statement of intent when they meet at the end of February, around the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, three sources told Reuters on December 28. .
Russia has accused Washington of trying to force European countries, where most Russian assets are located, to sign on to similar measures, and the Kremlin has said Moscow has a list of American, European and other assets that would be seized. if Western countries move forward.
RIA cited data it said showed direct investment by the European Union, G7 nations, Australia and Switzerland into the Russian economy by the end of 2022 amounted to $288 billion.
EU nations held $223.3 billion of the assets, of which $98.3 billion was formally held by Cyprus, $50.1 billion by the Netherlands and $17.3 billion by Germany.
Among the top five European investors in the Russian economy were France, with assets and investments worth $16.6 billion, and Italy, with $12.9 billion.
Among G7 countries, he named Britain as one of the biggest investors, citing data at the end of 2021 showing British assets in Russia were worth about $18.9 billion.
The United States had Russian assets worth $9.6 billion at the end of 2022, Japan $4.6 billion and Canada $2.9 billion.
Reuters Agency
Source: Ambito