Russia: The EU is heading towards a self-destruction
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement commenting on the decision of EU countries to adopt a plan to use the profits of frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia in the European Union to support Ukraine.
The Belgian government, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, announced on Tuesday that EU countries have formally approved a plan to use the profits of the Russian central bank’s frozen assets to support Ukraine.
Now, the plan is awaiting approval by European ministers after it was approved by EU ambassadors in early May.
“The European Union is moving towards self-destruction,” the Russian Foreign Ministry statement said, adding that the bloc had taken the unprecedented step of “stealing the sovereign assets of a foreign state”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized what it called an example of “European values” and the “rules-based system” promoted by the West.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the West illegally seized frozen Russian assets, considering that the European Union has shown the world that it considers the theft of financial reserves a legitimate behavior, thus abandoning its obligations to protect private property and investments, and respect international legal immunities.
The Russian Foreign Ministry considered that this measure raised the theft to the level of a foreign policy tool of Brussels, warning that the consequences of this European move are unpredictable, but stressed that the European Union will eventually have to return what was stolen.
The EU plan includes channeling 90% of asset returns to an EU-managed fund to provide military assistance to Ukraine against Russia, while the remaining 10% is used to support Kiev in other ways.
The EU expects assets to make profits of 15-20 billion Euros ($16.30 billion to $21.70 billion) by 2027.
The G7 countries froze about $300 billion in Russian financial assets shortly after Russia began military operations in Ukraine in 2022.
Since then, discussions have been taking place within the EU and the group on how these funds can be used to support Ukraine and whether it’s legal to use them at all.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked the EU for the decision, stressing that Ukraine’s ultimate goal is to control Russian financial assets, not just profit from its profits.
