MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. America and Europe have not yet taken the last step and have not yet stolen Russia's gold reserves, President Vladimir Putin said at the VTB Russia Calling! Investment Forum.
He pointed out that before the freezing of Russia's reserves, the prevailing opinion in America and Europe was that people who make economic decisions act conservatively and understand the risks of undermining international legal norms in the economic and financial spheres. Nevertheless, according to Putin, the US and its European satellites took such a step with regard to Russian assets.
"Of course, they did not take the last step - they froze [the reserves], they did not steal this money from us completely," he said.
In these conditions, Russia was forced to retaliate, the president added.