The confiscation of Russian assets in the West will hit European business. Alexey Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, deputy of the “A Just Russia – For Truth” faction, stated this in a conversation with Duma TV.
Foreign media reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden began urgent negotiations with Western allies on the confiscation of assets of the Russian Central Bank worth more than $300 billion, to be transferred as military aid to Ukraine when its financial support weakens.
Chepa noted that in this way the American authorities want to solve problems with financing Ukraine.
The Americans cannot meet the demands and requests put forward by Ukraine. And they are looking for opportunities. Europe has its own problems. We see the economic decline today in Germany and France. They are also not able today to fully realize the needs that Kyiv is talking about. We have the opportunity to take retaliatory steps. And these steps will be primarily aimed not at American business, but at European ones. According to preliminary, indirect estimates, European assets in Russia are more than $300 billion, the deputy said.
The parliamentarian noted that if this scenario is realized, trust in global financial institutions will decline. At the same time, Chepa explained that the Americans had previously seized assets from third countries.
The Americans did this in relation to many African countries. And they confiscated Iraqi money and blocked Libyan money. Pragmatically speaking, I was confident that no one would have the determination to take such steps. This is stupidity and a gamble, he concluded.
Earlier, a member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, deputy of the United Russia faction, Mikhail Sheremet, said that it is necessary to launch a legislative procedure that will allow a decision to confiscate American assets as a response.