This coincides with the trend of Estonia, one of the Baltic countries, adopting a law allowing the confiscation of Russian assets, which Moscow considered, in statements made by the official Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, a “malicious idea.”
The process of confiscations over the past few days did not end there. Last week, Washington announced that it had transferred confiscated financial assets from Russian businessmen to Ukraine, sparking a battle front of another kind between Russia on one side and America and the West on the other side over the assets.
Years of confiscation
total up Russian assets The equivalent of $322 billion in Russian Central Bank reserves was confiscated, and tens of billions of frozen assets of Russian citizens subject to Western sanctions were confiscated.
Former member of the Russian Duma (parliament), an expert in international politics, Yevgeny Vicheslav, says that the confiscation of funds and assets between Russia and Ukraine is not recent, but dates back to 2015.
He added in an interview with Sky News Arabia: “At that time, Ukraine began working to complicate the working mechanisms of the Russian banking sector in Kiev, and things became more complicated with the accession of the Crimean Peninsula to RussiaWhich, of course, resulted in the confiscation of several Ukrainian sectors and companies, and the crisis worsened and still exists after Western and other Baltic countries adopted it.”
Vicheslav continued, “The crisis of confiscation of funds and assets between Russia and Ukraine constitutes one aspect of the war, because the countries supporting Ukraine (America and Western countries) have issued recommendations to confiscate properties, sectors, yachts, and homes of individuals and entities estimated at 360 billion euros, belonging to Russia that is subject to sanctions.”
He also touched on “gradual steps taken by European countries towards controlling Russian funds and capabilities,” explaining:
- “There are no unified or single European laws that allow the confiscation of Russian funds, as these are steps that violate international law.”
- “Western countries disguised the confiscation of funds belonging to the Russian Central Bank as saying they would invest them in the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
- “The Baltic states, including Estonia, are leading a trend to confiscate millions of Russian funds by creating a local law.”
- “Moscow protects the funds, entities and investments of Western countries on its territory, in compliance with the Charter international law Without chasing.”
Reconstruction money…and a legal cover
In the same context, economic researcher and advisor to the Arab Center for Studies, Abu Bakr Al-Deeb, says that the reconstruction of Ukraine will require tens of billions of dollars, and therefore the announcement by Washington and NATO countries to use Russian assets and funds in reconstruction is not economically convincing.
Al-Deeb added in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” website, “Some of the confiscated funds were fronts for businessmen, and it is normal in wars for there to be funds that feed intelligence activities, and what is proven from economic indicators is that the weapon of Western sanctions has not greatly affected Russia so far, as it has not The war is still continuing without an economic collapse, and there are Western assessments that confirm that the sanctions against Russia have not achieved their desired purpose.”
Al-Deeb touched on a number of results that Washington and Western countries want to reach, behind the steps to confiscate Russia’s funds and assets, including:
- “Exerting political and economic pressure on Moscow in front of the elites and businessmen with confiscated funds.”
- “Announcing the use of confiscated funds for reconstruction Ukraine “An attempt to justify Western steps in a way acceptable to the international community.”
- “Using Moscow’s money to restore war monuments in Ukraine is a type of new sanctions against Russia.”