MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Moscow will, if necessary, respond to the European Union’s possible decision to confiscate Russian and give them to Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters on Thursday.

"We will certainly assess the situation and, if necessary, will take the appropriate action to protect our legitimate interests. However, what the European Union is doing is completely illegal and, by the way, many countries there have doubts about the success of this campaign and its being in line with international law," he noted in response to a TASS question about whether Moscow would consider retaliating in case the EU’s working group made a decision to seize Russian assets in favor of Ukraine.

"It is absolutely clear to any lawyer that everything the EU - and not just the EU - has done in relation to Russia is a blatant violation of basic international law," Grushko added. The deputy foreign minister pointed out that only the United Nations Security Council had the right to introduce sanctions.

The Swedish Presidency of the Council of Europe announced earlier that the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives had upheld a decision on Wednesday to create a special working group to explore the possibility of handing Russian assets seized or frozen in the EU over to Ukraine.