LONDON, March 7. /TASS/. None of the schemes being floated in the West for confiscating the frozen sovereign funds of the Bank of Russia represent a fair or equitable scenario as they are all fraught with the risk of completely discrediting the reliability and trustworthiness of Western financial markets and legal institutions, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin told TASS.

"All of those things are still being discussed, although all of this is entirely trumped up and not only do [these schemes] not stand up to close scrutiny, but they are also sparking major disquiet in financial circles in the City of London and in the European Union. There are no scenarios being floated for the confiscation of our funds that could be deemed fair as [any of them] could discredit the reliability and stability of Western financial markets, while the burden of paying for such actions, if they are actually carried out some day, will eventually fall on the financial institutions involved, as well as entrepreneurs, businessmen and ordinary citizens," he said.

"It is also worth noting that the loudest claims of the necessity of confiscation are coming from Washington, where far fewer Russian funds are held, than from continental Europe. Berlin, Paris and Brussels understand that the European Union will have to face the consequences of all of this if it happens one day, while their expected losses in the competition among international financial markets will be even higher," the diplomat added.

The EU, the US, Japan and Canada have frozen Russian assets worth a total amount of around $300 bln. Around $5-6 bln of these assets are held at US securities depositories, while the bulk of the assets are in Europe, including at the Euroclear international securities depository in Belgium.

Bloomberg reported on February 4, citing sources, that the G7 nations and the EU were discussing the possibility of using more than $250 bln worth of the Bank of Russia’s frozen assets to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction. The proposal suggests that Ukraine’s allies sell its debt using Russia’s frozen assets as collateral. Those supporting such a decision believe that any settlement of the conflict will result in a situation where Russia pays for damages in Ukraine, whereas in the event it refuses to do so, claims could be brought against it in an attempt to seize its frozen assets as compensation.