The Kremlin said it has a list of foreign assets that it would seize if the West pulls a similar move.
The West froze $300 billion in Russian assets following its invasion of Ukraine.
G7 leaders are set to discuss how to seize Russian assets legally when they next meet in February, per Reuters.
The Kremlin said it has a list of foreign assets that it would seize in retaliation against any similar moves by the West on Russia’s frozen assets.
“Well, of course, we analyzed a potential response in advance. And we will take action so that it best serves our interests,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, according to TASS, a state news agency.
Peskov declined to comment on which assets are on the Kremlin’s hit list but added that Moscow has been preparing retaliatory action as it understands “the total unpredictability of our counterparties and their inclination to violate international law and other legislation,” per TASS.
The West froze $300 billion in Russian central bank assets following its invasion of Ukraine. Now, leaders of the Group of Seven are set to discuss how to seize them legally when they next meet in February, Reuters reported last Thursday, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the plans and a British official.
It’s not immediately clear what the G7 leaders intend to use the assets for, but the West has considered seizing frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction or to help fund its war effort.
However, there have been concerns about the legality of seizing the frozen Russian assets. It could also undermine the international financial system, and erode trust in the US dollar and the euro as reserve currencies.
The Kremlin has called the notion of seizing Russian assets “outright theft.”
Russia’s potential retaliatory seizure of assets could make it even more difficult for foreign companies that are jumping through hoops just to exit the Russian market.
As it is, the Kremlin is already scrutinizing and micromanaging nearly every corporate exit plan before approving it, The New York Times reported last month.
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