(MENAFN) Moscow delivered a stark warning Thursday that European Union efforts to confiscate frozen Russian funds could constitute grounds for military conflict, invoking the Latin phrase "casus belli"—justification for war.

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, issued the threat via Russian media platform MAX, declaring potential asset seizures would trigger severe retaliation.

"If the unhinged European Union still attempts to steal Russian assets blocked in Belgium by issuing a so-called reparations credit, such actions under international law could be qualified as a special kind of casus belli, with all the ensuing consequences for Brussels and individual EU countries," Medvedev stated, targeting both EU institutions and member states.

The senior security official escalated his rhetoric further, suggesting Russia might pursue forcible compensation rather than legal remedies.

"And then the return of these funds may occur not through a court, but through actual reparations, paid in kind by the defeated enemies of Russia," he added, implying potential military action to reclaim assets.

Medvedev, who held Russia's presidency from 2008 to 2012, has established a pattern of inflammatory rhetoric throughout his political career. His latest comments arrive amid ongoing tensions over billions in Russian assets immobilized in Western financial institutions following international sanctions.

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