After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies froze $300 billion worth of Russian foreign reserves. This corresponds to approximately NOK 3,300 billion.
Now top US politicians want to seize frozen funds located in the US and give them to Ukraine. On Saturday, the Biden administration received the green light from the House of Representatives.
Russia is now issuing a warning to the West, promising “endless legal responses” and “severe reactions” if the US chooses to carry out the plans.
On Tuesday 23 April, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested by the Federal Security Service FSB. This could be Putin’s warning to the country’s defense minister, experts believe. Video: AP, Reuters. Reporter: Marte Nyløkken Helseth / Dagbladet TV.
view more
This is according to the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova. She adds that Russia will never give up territories in Ukraine in exchange for the return of frozen funds.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says in a separate statement that there is still a lot of Western capital in Russia, which could now become a target if the US chooses to touch Russian funds.
Former President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev nevertheless says that Russia will not be able to retaliate on the same scale.
– The reason is clear – we do not have a significant amount of US government property, including money, rights and other US assets. Therefore, the answer can only be asymmetric. It is still not a fact that this will be less painful.
Medvedev wrote that on his official Telegram channel on Saturday.
