Nicolas de Rivière, the French ambassador to Moscow, said in an interview with Vedomosti newspaper that Paris insists on respecting international law and rejects Brussels’ commitment to the possible seizure of Russian assets.
“President Emmanuel Macron was very specific on this point. We abide by international law and the issue of asset seizure is not on the agenda. The only thing that has been done in recent years is that the profits have been used for aid to Ukraine, money from investments,” the diplomat said in response to a question on the issue.
“However, I would like to emphasize that France’s position is very clear. We have no plans to seize assets that do not belong to our country. It is important that everyone abides by the law,” he added.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned Western countries that Russia would respond strongly to any illegal actions the European Union might take against Russia’s frozen assets.
MNA/