NEW DELHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Western countries of “theft”, and warned that their plans to provide loans to Ukraine using interest from frozen Russian assets abroad “would not go unpunished”.
In a speech delivered at Russia’s foreign ministry, Putin said, “despite all the trickery, theft is still theft and will not go unpunished.”
Putin’s statement comes a day after G7 leaders reached a consensus to allocate $50 billion in support of war-torn Ukraine by the end of the current year, with the funds being sourced from frozen Russian assets.
The United States has put forward a proposal to provide Ukraine with a substantial loan of $50 billion, using the interest on the 300 billion euros ($325 billion) of Russian central bank assets frozen by the G7 and the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as collateral.
The EU and the G7 have frozen approximately 300 billion euros of Russian central bank assets and have also seized private assets, including yachts, real estate, and other property from oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian think tank Institute of Legislative Ideas estimates the total value of these assets at $397 billion, while the World Bank estimates that rebuilding the war-torn country will cost more than $486 billion.
Initially, the United States advocated for direct confiscation of Russian assets but has since aligned with the European plan to utilize the interest generated by the frozen assets.
In a speech delivered at Russia’s foreign ministry, Putin said, “despite all the trickery, theft is still theft and will not go unpunished.”
Putin’s statement comes a day after G7 leaders reached a consensus to allocate $50 billion in support of war-torn Ukraine by the end of the current year, with the funds being sourced from frozen Russian assets.
The United States has put forward a proposal to provide Ukraine with a substantial loan of $50 billion, using the interest on the 300 billion euros ($325 billion) of Russian central bank assets frozen by the G7 and the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as collateral.
The EU and the G7 have frozen approximately 300 billion euros of Russian central bank assets and have also seized private assets, including yachts, real estate, and other property from oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian think tank Institute of Legislative Ideas estimates the total value of these assets at $397 billion, while the World Bank estimates that rebuilding the war-torn country will cost more than $486 billion.
Initially, the United States advocated for direct confiscation of Russian assets but has since aligned with the European plan to utilize the interest generated by the frozen assets.
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