EU's decision to freeze assets undermines Ukraine peace efforts: Russia

Russia on Saturday said the EU's decision to indefinitely freeze Russian sovereign assets is a targeted attack on peace efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, adding that Moscow would shortly take retaliatory steps.

On Friday, the European Union Council decided to "prohibit, on a temporary basis, any transfers of Central Bank of Russia assets immobilised in the EU back to Russia."  In a statement, it said the decision was taken as a "matter of urgency to limit damage to the Union's economy."  Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a press statement said that the timing of the EU decision shows that Brussels is seeking to undermine efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict, by delivering a direct blow to the peace initiatives of US President Donald Trump.

Brussels is carefully concealing the fact that it will be citizens of EU countries who will ultimately pay for these political ambitions. Our retaliatory actions will follow shortly, Zakharova said.

Responding to various media questions about Moscow's response, she said that a detailed statement on this was published by the Bank of Russia on Friday.

"Specific steps are already being implemented. On the same day, Russia's regulator announced that it had filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Arbitration Court against the Euroclear depository, seeking compensation for losses incurred by the Bank of Russia, she said.

The Bank of Russia had announced its decision to recover damages caused to the Russian regulator from the Belgian depository Euroclear by filing a corresponding lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court.

At the same time, the European Union itself will no longer be able to make up for the damage that such actions will inflict both on its own financial and economic system and on its reputation worldwide as what was once a reliable trade and investment partner," she said.

Such misdemeanours in international relations do not go without consequences, she said, adding that any disposal of Russia's sovereign assets without Russia's consent whether it be their indefinite freezing, seizure, or attempts to present their de facto confiscation as some kind of reparations loan' constitutes an absolutely unlawful act that grossly violates the norms of international law.

Zakharova also noted that the EU's policy toward Russia has "long been stripped of any rational logic and resembles a theatre of the absurd", while Brussels' course of inflicting damage on Russia at any cost has already led to a dire economic situation within the EU itself.

Brussels-based Euroclear is believed to be holding about 200 billion euros worth of Russian sovereign assets, which the European Commission wants to underwrite a reparation loan to Ukraine to fund its civilian and military budget.

Speaking in the Upper House - Council of Federation on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin has prepared its tough response to the expropriation of Russian assets, including confiscation of Western government and private assets.

Local media reports suggest that Russia has approximately USD 500- 800 billion in such assets.