
The Kremlin warned the West today that it has drawn up a list of US and European assets that will be seized by Russia if the leaders of the G7 major industrialized nations decide to continue sanctions and freeze the Russian central bank's finances and $300 billion in reserves.
G7 leaders will discuss a new version of the law to allow the seizure of frozen Russian assets at their meeting in February, two sources with knowledge of the plans and a British official said on Thursday.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that any such move by the West would constitute "theft" and is undertaken in violation of international law by undermining the financial system and the global economy.
"It will be a big blow to the main parameters of the international economy, it will damage the international economy. It will damage the trust of other countries in the United States, as well as in the EU as an economic guarantor. Therefore, such actions have very, very serious consequences," Peskov told reporters.
Asked if there was a specific list of Western assets that Russia could seize in retaliation, Peskov said: "Yes, there is." However, he refused to say specifically which assets it is about.
Meanwhile, about $300 billion of Russian central bank assets are currently frozen in the West. Although the central bank has not disclosed details of the assets that have been frozen, most of the bonds and deposits are in euros, as well as some in US dollars and British pounds.