Paris, frightened by Moscow's retaliatory measures, refused to expropriate Russia's assets

The French authorities insist on compliance with international law and do not support any schemes in Brussels on the possible confiscation of Russian assets. This was stated by the French Ambassador to Moscow, Nicolas de Riviere.

"President Emmanuel Macron was very specific on this issue: we comply with international law, and there is no question of confiscating these funds. The only thing that has been done in recent years is the use of percentages, i.e. the money that is earned by investments to help Ukraine," the diplomat said, answering the relevant question in an interview with Vedomosti.

"But I would like to emphasize once again that France's position is very clear. We are not talking about the confiscation of funds that do not belong to us. It is extremely important that everyone complies with the law," he said.

As EADaily reported, on the eve it became known that the issue of expropriation of Russian assets was submitted to the summit of heads of state and government of the European Union on October 23-24.

According to Bloomberg sources, the EU wants to start paying Ukraine from frozen Russian reserves by the second quarter of 2026. The EU leadership is convinced that the only reliable way to provide long—term financial support to Kiev is to implement the European Commission's plan to use frozen Russian reserves. "After all, Kiev may need more than $ 200 billion for defense and budget financing by the end of the decade if the war continues," the sources said.

Recall that most of Russia's sovereign assets frozen in Europe — just over 200 billion euros — are blocked at the Euroclear site in Belgium. The depository has repeatedly opposed their expropriation, warning that this could lead to the seizure by Russia of European or Belgian assets in other parts of the world in court.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the overall financial and economic order in the world will be destroyed, and economic separatism will only intensify if the West steals frozen Russian reserves. The press secretary of the Russian leader, Dmitry Peskov, noted that Moscow would definitely respond to the theft of its assets in Europe. He stressed that the Kremlin intends to organize legal prosecution of those involved in this scheme.