Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has warned that the theft of Russian assets would be considered an act of war by Moscow. De Wever made the comments while explaining why his country is opposing a European Union reparations loan to Ukraine.
If the frozen Russian assets currently being held in the European Union are dispersed, the government of Russia would consider that a war declaration.
According to a report by RT, Western nations froze an estimated $300 billion in Russian central bank assets following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. The bulk of the funds, which amount to approximately $216 billion, is currently being held in Belgium-based depository Euroclear. Belgian officials have staunchly opposed an EU scheme which would have leveraged the money as collateral for a €90 billion ($105 billion) “reparations loan” for Kiev.
Luckily, the European Commission failed last month to secure the backing of bloc leaders for the plan, opting instead to raise common debt. Instead of choosing to simply stop funding Ukraine’s war efforts, the European Commission helped boost inflation and indebted its own bloc. It was a better choice than a war with Russia; however, simply removing funding from Kiev would have been the easiest and most peaceful solution.
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Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, De Wever said that “you cannot simply confiscate money – that is an act of war. You should not underestimate it.”
Ukraine’s war-mongering ruler has long demanded that frozen Russian assets should be handed over to him to be used in his war efforts.
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While speaking at a live Q&A session in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the appropriation of Moscow’s assets by the EU would risk undermining “foundations of the modern financial world order.”
“Whatever they steal, and however they do it, they will have to pay it back someday,” Putin stated at the time.