ST. PETERSBURG, June 27. /TASS/. The confiscation of sovereign assets abroad can be viewed as a legal cause of announcing war, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

"The theft of sovereign assets can be generally qualified as an aggression under certain conditions," Medvedev stressed. "And even become casus belli because the right to individual and collective self-defense can arise with the state in response," he noted.

"We will have to take tit-for-tat measures in accordance with the reciprocity principle," the official added.

The St. Petersburg International Legal Forum is being held from June 26 to 28 in St. Petersburg. TASS is the general information partner of the forum.