Russia, China resist confiscation of foreign assets

(MENAFN) In a joint statement issued on Thursday, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China expressed their united opposition to the seizure of sovereign assets by third parties. They emphasized that any nation facing such actions has the right to retaliate within the bounds of international law.

Since the onset of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Western nations, including the United States, United Kingdom, and various European Union states, have frozen approximately USD300 billion of Moscow's sovereign capital. Some Western countries have proposed confiscating these assets to fund Ukraine's defense and future reconstruction efforts. However, resistance from certain European Union members, such as France and Germany, has led to a compromise whereby only the interest earned on frozen Russian assets is appropriated.

The statement issued after the meeting between Xi and Putin in China denounced initiatives aimed at seizing foreign countries' assets and emphasized the affected nations' right to employ retaliatory measures in accordance with international legal principles. It described the practice of confiscating financial resources as contrary to established legal norms.

Furthermore, the leaders of China and Russia pledged to provide mutual protection for each other's foreign property. Xi hailed the bilateral relationship between China and Russia as a "model of relations between large powers and neighboring states," characterized by mutual respect, trust, friendship, and mutual benefit. The joint stance underscores the depth of cooperation between Russia and China and their commitment to defending their respective interests in the face of external pressures.

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