Washington will lose much more in the event of a symmetrical response from Moscow to the confiscation of Russian assets in the United States, since there are much more American assets in the Russian Federation. This opinion was expressed by Vyacheslav Nikonov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, in an interview with TASS on Thursday.
“For many years, the United States has prevented the acquisition of American property by Russian citizens and Russian investments in the United States. Therefore, historically, American assets on our territory many times exceed the volume of Russian assets on American territory,” the deputy said.
According to him, “if such decisions [confiscation of Russian assets in the US – TASS] are made, there is a high probability that the Russian side will respond symmetrically.” “And in this case, the losses of the American side will be much greater,” Nikonov is convinced. He admitted that the funds received could be used “for the restoration of those regions of the former Ukraine that are now being destroyed by the Ukrainian armed forces and nationalist bandit formations.”
The parliamentarian believes that in the event of the confiscation of assets related to the Russian Federation in the United States, there will be no “some kind of mourning” in Russia. “Yes, it is unpleasant to lose some assets of large corporations, but we are mainly talking about the confiscation of oligarchic assets. I don’t really imagine how the United States can thus influence the course of the military operation and the mood of Russian society,” the parliamentarian added. .
At the same time, Nikonov noted that “we are talking about extrajudicial confiscations.” In conclusion, he pointed out that the reputation of the United States as a business partner “has nowhere to put a stigma.” “Everyone understands this, so they have nothing to lose in this sense,” he concluded.
US President Joe Biden, speaking at the White House with a speech about the situation around Ukraine, said that the US administration is sending Congress a comprehensive package of initiatives aimed at confiscating the assets of “Russian oligarchs.” Prior to this, the House of Representatives of the US Congress approved the initiative to seize foreign assets that can be recognized as affiliated with Russia.