Moscow says can confiscate Russian-based assets of ‘hostile’ countries in tit-for-tat move

Moscow says it can seize Russian-based assets of those countries the Kremlin deems hostile, reciprocating a proposal by the United States to sell off the assets of Russian oligarchs and pay the proceeds to Ukraine.

Vyacheslav Volodin, who as the speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament often voices the Kremlin’s views, made the suggestion on Sunday, four days after the US House of Representatives almost unanimously passed the Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act.

“As far as companies based in Russian territory are concerned whose owners are citizens of hostile countries and where the decision has been taken” to seize Russian assets, “it is fair to take reciprocal measures and confiscate assets,” the Duma chairman said.

Volodin’s remarks came after the White House on Thursday called on Congress to boost US authority to liquidate assets seized from Russian elites, or the “bad guys”, as American President Joe Biden calls them.

In his latest attempt to ratchet up economic pressure on Moscow to end its war and to pay for the enormous costs of defending Ukraine, Biden wants to sell off the pricy seized assets to “remedy the harm Russia caused and to help build Ukraine.”

After being approved in the House, the Biden’s proposal - the so-called Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act - now goes to the Senate for approval, and if passed, it would allow Biden to confiscate and liquidate property owned by sanctioned individuals.

“And the proceeds from the sale of these assets will be used for our country's development,” Volodin further said, denouncing “a certain number of hostile countries — Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and even the United States” for flouting international law and “resorting to pure theft.”

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“Today, Russian businessmen are buying foreign companies operating in Russia, and purchasing the shares of partners who want to quit our market,” Russia's most senior lawmaker further noted, calling on “hostile” countries to “act in a civilized manner and respect international law.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24. The ongoing conflict has provoked a unanimous response from Western countries, which have imposed a long list of sanctions on Moscow.

Biden termed the Russian action “unprovoked and unjustified attack,” and the American media described it as the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two. Moscow, however, has time and again said that it would halt the operation instantly if Kiev met its list of demands, including never applying to join NATO.

“A dangerous precedent has been set, which could boomerang back on the US itself,” Volodin further said, stressing, “This decision won't affect our country's economy. The yachts, villas and other assets of rich (Russian) citizens contribute nothing to the development” of Russia.

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The US has already delivered $2.4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Biden’s term in office, though much of that aid has come since the onset of war in Ukraine.

Furthermore, Biden has already asked Congress for a whopping $33 billion aid package for Ukraine, including more than $20 billion in new military aid and other security assistance over the next five months to use in the regime’s war with Russia.

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