Russia’s Finance Ministry: using Russian assets will lead to global trade fragmentation
The consequences of Western manipulation of Russian assets will lead to even greater fragmentation of global trade, settlements and financial markets – as noted by Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov, TASS reports
The Russian representative stressed that the decisions of Western countries to allocate loans to Ukraine with repayment at the expense of alienated income from Russia’s frozen assets increased the risks of using the Dollar and the Euro, “All our partners who use the US Dollar, who keep their reserves in American and European currencies, understand that the risks of using the Dollar and the Euro have just seriously increased.”
The Russian Deputy Finance Minister pointed out that there would be no immediate reaction from other states to these decisions, and stressed that ‘any financier always assesses the risks’.
“When investing, when using some money, any financier always assesses the risks. We have just seen that the risk of using the US Dollar has jumped,” Mr. Chebeskov said, stressing that the consequences of using income from Russia’s assets in favour of Ukraine will definitely be. “This will have global long-term consequences for the entire international monetary and financial system. Of course, in simple words, we view this as a theft.”
The Russian official added that such a step would violate the principles of international law and the inviolability of state assets.
“Unfortunately, the consequences will lead to even greater fragmentation of trade, settlements and financial markets. The shift away from what used to be a virtually single currency for settlements and savings is obvious. Alternative payment mechanisms and alternative savings mechanisms will emerge,” he concluded, noting that it was ‘a matter of time’.
According to Mr. Chebeskov, Russia will be forced to respond to measures taken by the West, in particular using income from assets frozen in response to the blocking of Russian financial resources, “We always act in this way rather in response. It is not our desire to violate principles, we do not initiate [such processes], but we have no right not to respond. <...> And we will use the proceeds from those assets that we have blocked, frozen, again, in response to the blocking of our financial resources.”
