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Russia does not close the door to dialogue with Western countries on the formation of a “new security architecture in Eurasia,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow on Tuesday.
“We are not closing the doors to any country located on the Eurasian continent,” said Sergei Lavrov, speaking of the need for a “new security architecture” in this vast region of the world.
The Russian Foreign Minister was addressing leaders of theNGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-profit association of public interest, which is not subject to the State or international institutions. Russians. “When and if our European colleagues come to their senses, they will understand that they are being used to strengthen the position of the United States due to the weakening of Europe’s position,” continued the head of Russian diplomacy, before reiterating his invitation to dialogue.
“You are welcome, the doors are open,” he added. “They will have to enter this process on the basis of equality.” The minister, however, clarified the Russian demands: “But they will have to enter this process on the basis of equality and full respect for the interests of those who began to interact earlier.”
Welcoming the dynamism of Eurasia, the Russian minister stressed that it was “necessary” to build this Eurasian security system “on the material basis of common infrastructure projects.” Sergei Lavrov denounced a “Euro-Atlantic” security system, embodied “in the links between North America and Europe and in structures such as NATO and the OSCE.”
A system that, according to him, has “discredited itself”, the United States having sought to “crush everyone”. Faced with this, Russia says it wants to act in favor of a multipolar order.
Recalling that Russia has been facing heavy Western sanctions, particularly American ones, since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine. For its part, Moscow has taken measures to counter these “hostile acts”.
Regarding the Russian assets frozen by the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that Moscow will not fail to react to the EU’s decision to use the proceeds of the frozen Russian assets to buy weapons from Ukraine. The day before, Brussels announced that it wanted to send Kiev 1.4 billion euros from these assets in early August.
Kremlin promises response
“This money is not only essentially stolen, but it is also spent on the purchase of weapons. It is probably difficult to imagine anything worse,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 23.
Such actions cannot remain “without reciprocity,” he stressed, before adding that Russia was studying the possibilities of legal proceedings against those involved in the adoption and execution of this decision to confiscate the interests of Russian assets, calling it “a direct violation of international law and property rights.”
On July 22, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the first tranche of €1.4 billion from revenues from frozen Russian assets would be sent to Ukraine in early August. EU member states are considering funding the purchase of “priority” weapons for kyiv, including air defense systems and artillery shells.
According to the EU decision, 90% of the income from interest on Russian assets blocked in the EU will go to the EU budget to provide military assistance to kyiv, with the remaining 10% going to Ukraine’s restoration programs. The G7 countries have also committed to providing Kiev with $50 billion in loans by the end of the year, which would also be guaranteed by income from Russian assets.
The international financial system is under threat According to RIA Novosti, about 300 billion euros of reserves have been frozen in the West since February 2022 and the start of the conflict in Ukraine. Some 191 billion euros of the Bank of Russia are currently placed with Euroclear Bank (EB), an international depository organization based in Brussels.
According to EB CEO Valérie Urbain, these funds generated 4.4 billion euros (before tax) in revenue in 2023. Around 5 billion dollars of Bank of Russia assets have also been identified in the United States.
Western maneuvers have, however, raised concerns. According to Bloomberg on July 11, Saudi Arabia warned the West, with Riyadh threatening to sell European debt if the G7 decided to seize the $300 billion in Russian assets frozen in the West.
The latter finally decided to seize only the profits from the assets, probably worried about the international repercussions of an arbitrary seizure that could scare off international investors. The West’s attempts to confiscate Russian assets harm the international financial system and raise concerns in other countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 16.