Putin warns that the EU’s “heist” of its funds will disrupt the global financial system

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned this Friday that the EU’s “heist” of its frozen assets will not only damage Europe’s image but could also destabilize the global financial system.

Putin has pointed out that the EU’s maneuver to obtain frozen Russian funds to deliver them to Ukraine goes beyond a theft, since this “is a secret theft of property” and in this case “they do it openly.”

“This is a robbery,” he stated during an event with the press and citizens to take stock of the year. “In addition to loss of image, it can lead to direct losses with the foundations of the current financial order,” warned the Russian leader, who stressed that they will go to court to defend their interests.

In that sense, the Russian president has assured that there are already many countries, “first of all the oil producers”, that fear for the integrity of the gold and foreign exchange reserves that they have deposited in banks in the eurozone. “Seeing what is happening, suspicions and doubts are already arising,” he said.

The EU and G7 have confiscated Russian assets worth around €300 billion since this phase of the Ukraine war began in February 2022, of which around €200 billion are in Europe.

ACCUSES UKRAINE OF NOT WANTING A PEACEFUL EXIT

Regarding the situation on the front, Putin has stated again that they are willing to negotiate a peaceful exit from the war as long as “the root causes of the conflict” are taken into account, a premise that the Kremlin has insisted on to justify its invasion almost four years ago.

Putin has indicated that Ukraine is not prepared to address the territorial issue and has regretted that, even recognizing a certain predisposition at times, the other side refuses to end the war peacefully despite having less and less military capacity.

“The enemy has suffered very serious losses in its strategic reserves, it practically has none left” and this “should encourage the Ukrainian regime to resolve all its problems and end this conflict by peaceful means,” the Russian president assessed, according to state news agencies.

“We would also very much like to live in conditions of peace and without military conflicts next year,” said Putin, who also had words of gratitude for his counterpart in the United States, Donald Trump, for the “sincere efforts” they have been making to achieve this goal.

Putin has also highlighted that they welcomed many of the proposals that the US side raised during the August summit in Anchorage, Alaska. “For us they would be difficult decisions, but we agreed with the commitments that were proposed to us,” he assured.

In short, he stated that now everything depends on Ukraine and its partners. “The ball is completely in the court” of the West, especially that of the “ringleaders of the kyiv regime and its European sponsors,” he said, disgracing them for spreading the theory that Russia is seeking a war on the continent.

“It’s nonsense,” said Putin, for whom this rhetoric is nothing more than a way for current European leaders to demonize Russia and cover up the “mistakes” that many of them have committed “systematically for years” in their own countries.

RUSSIA FEELS “FOUGHT” BY NATO

In contrast, Putin has discredited NATO’s role in this conflict and has recalled that there have been several times that he has “deceived” Russia regarding its expansionist aspirations. “The promises they made to us are being ignored. They have lied to us once again,” the president reproached.

Putin has highlighted that these expansionist “waves” towards the east raise the “legitimate concern” of Moscow, which has seen how up to sixteen countries have joined since 1999, including Finland and Sweden, which broke with years of historical neutrality to enter the Alliance in March and April 2023.

“We are not saying that any country has the right to choose its own method of defense. But it must be a method that does not threaten anyone, including us (…) we simply insist that the promises they made to us be fulfilled and that our Western partners assume their obligations,” he stressed.

Likewise, he pointed out that Russia is willing to cooperate with Western countries — “everyone will win,” he noted — as long as it is established on the basis of a relationship “of equality” and under “respectful treatment.”