Lavrov accuses European leaders of “theft” over Russian assets

(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Monday that European leaders are “genetically wired” to steal, criticizing the EU’s proposal to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to finance Ukraine. He spoke in an interview with Iran’s state broadcaster.

Lavrov targeted the EU’s so-called “reparation loan” plan, which would channel money to Kiev over several years using Russia’s frozen funds as collateral. He cited Western precedents, including US actions against Iran and Venezuela, as evidence of a history of immobilizing or seizing foreign assets.

Belgium, which hosts most of the frozen Russian funds via Euroclear, warned that the proposal would amount to unprecedented confiscation and could damage the reputation of the Western financial system. Russia has also filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in the Moscow Arbitration Court seeking damages for the asset freezes, though Brussels has dismissed Russia’s claimed $230 billion figure as “speculative” and maintains the freezes are legal.

Critics argue that the EU’s plan represents a fundamentally different and legally riskier step than previous asset freezes, giving Russia strong grounds to pursue compensation in international courts.

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