New York Times: G7 statements will lead to further fragmentation of the global economy

A report by the New York Times warned that the joint statements of the G7 finance ministers about the possibility of confiscating Russian assets could lead to the further fragmentation of the global economy.

The New York Times said efforts by the G7 in recent years to contain Russia and China had had had only limited success.

Proposals being considered by Western finance ministers on using frozen Russian assets to prop up Ukraine and seek to limit the export of cheap products from China could reinforce the divide between the West and the economies of Russia, China and their allies, exacerbating the global fragmentation that worries economists.

Last November, Russian Central Bank Director Elvira Nabiolina warned of the consequences of the confiscation and freezing of Russian assets by the West, stressing that this would have negative consequences in general for the development of the global financial system.

Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said earlier that the Russian Federation would have to act similarly if Western countries decided to confiscate their reserves.