Lavrov: "Theft"

Lavrov: "Theft"

Earlier, EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell advocated the use of frozen Russian gold and foreign exchange reserves for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The EU no longer has its own foreign policy, it is completely in alignment with the policy of the United States, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry noted, Russian media report.

He noticed that such actions are already becoming a habit in the West, RIA Novosti agency reported. Lavrov mentioned as an example the situation with the freezing of Afghan funds, which Western countries want to use not for the needs of the people of Afghanistan, but for purposes outside the new country.

Lavrov's deputy, Aleksandar Grushko, called Borrell's proposal illegal, stating that such a move would affect the entire global financial system and would cost Europeans dearly. After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the West increased the pressure on Moscow, and many countries announced the freezing of Russian property.

According to the words of the Minister of Finance, Anton Siluanov, it is about 300 billion dollars, which is half of the gold and foreign exchange reserves. Russia has taken countermeasures and specifically banned foreign investors from withdrawing money from its financial system.

According to some estimates, it is more than 500 billion dollars. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said yesterday that the European Union should consider seizing frozen Russian foreign exchange reserves to help pay for Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.

He said in an interview with the Financial Times that it would be logical for the EU to do the same thing that the United States did with the assets of the Afghan Central Bank after the Taliban came to power, Reuters reported.