Russia mocks EU deliberations on frozen assets, says seizure will prompt ‘harshest response’

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MOSCOW, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Russia said on Thursday that any “illegal action” by the European Union in relation to its frozen assets would elicit “the harshest reaction”, and that Moscow was already preparing its response.

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise 90 billion euros ($105 billion) for Ukraine to cover its struggling military and basic services against Russia’s war.

The proposal would invoke emergency powers in order to circumvent any veto from EU countries that are friendly towards Russia, such as Hungary and Slovakia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters: “Any illegal actions involving our assets will not go unanswered… Preparations for a package of countermeasures in the event of actual theft and seizure of Russian Federation assets are already under way.”

The EU has been locked in discussions for months over a legal mechanism that would enable it to use frozen Russian assets in Europe to make loans to Ukraine.

Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are located, has stepped up its opposition to the plan, demanding guarantees from its EU partners that they would share responsibility in the event of any challenge over the legality of such a move.

Zakharova mocked the debate raging in the EU over whether it should risk going ahead, saying “rational forces” within the bloc were trying to block the plan because it would be illegal.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Felix Light; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)