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Russia issued an `ultimatum` to the US about confiscating assets 0
(Dan Tri) – Russia may downgrade relations with the US if Washington confiscates Moscow’s assets, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov (Photo: CGTN).
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned on April 25 that Russia could respond economically and politically if the US and the West confiscate Russian assets.
`Of course, lowering the level of diplomatic relations is one of the options. Many high-ranking representatives in our government have proposed economic and financial response measures against the West.
The Russian diplomat added: `We are considering appropriate countermeasures against the assets of Western opponents as well as diplomatic countermeasures.`
He did not specify what lowering the level of diplomatic relations might lead to.
The US and its allies have frozen about $300 billion in Russian central bank assets as part of sanctions against Moscow launching a special military campaign in Ukraine.
Washington has long advocated confiscating those assets to help Ukraine deal with Russia and rebuild the country.
This bill allows the US President to confiscate Russian assets held in US banks and transfer them to Ukraine.
US Senator Rand Paul, who is skeptical of the proposal, warned earlier this year that the move would be `an act of economic warfare`.
Officials in several Western countries, notably the United States and Britain, have insisted on a complete seizure of Russian assets despite concerns that this would face legal challenges.
Meanwhile, the EU is reluctant to do so because it is worried about Russian retaliation.
The Kremlin warned that Moscow already has a list of US and European assets to confiscate in case the West decides to confiscate Russian assets.
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out more than two years ago, the US and European countries have tried to provide aid to Kiev and impose sanctions on Russia.
US President Joe Biden on April 24 signed a bill granting nearly 61 billion USD to Ukraine after half a year of stalled aid.
An anonymous senior US official also revealed that Washington secretly transferred the Long-Range Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) with a range of 300km to Kiev.
Responding to the above information, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that this is a dangerous weapon and will only cause more trouble for Ukraine, but cannot change the situation.
`The United States is directly involved in this conflict. They are following the path of increasing the operational range of the weapons systems they provide to Ukraine. This will not fundamentally change the special military campaign of