The French National Assembly approved a decision yesterday to increase aid to Ukraine that includes a call for the seizure of frozen Russian assets.
National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet announced that the decision received the support of 288 deputies, while 54 deputies opposed it.
At the end of February, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the seizure of Russian assets is impossible as it contradicts international law. Nevertheless, he tasked the French Ministry of Finance to study the potential consequences of such a decision.
After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the European Union and G7 countries froze about half of Russia's cash reserves, estimated at around 300 billion euros, of which 200 billion euros are located in the European Union.
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the freezing of Russian assets in Europe as "theft," asserting that the European Union targets not only individuals' funds but also government assets.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Moscow would respond to any seizure of assets. He noted that Russia has the ability not to return the funds held by Western countries on its territory.
